Nazarick in the 22nd Century
by Overword
Summary: Ainz is mysteriously teleported to Earth. How will he handle the unusual events? Will he attack the world, or stay in hiding? Only the Supreme One can tell you that, but if you stick around, you can watch the story unfold.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey guys! Here's the first chapter! I hope you enjoy.**

 _This fanfiction starts sometime after Ainz meets with the guardians for the first time, and they declare their loyalty. He is already Ainz instead of Momonga. Everything is the same, except Sebas's report of the surrounding terrain. Sorry about starting a bit past his arrival to the world, but I feel like I'd just write a copy of Volume 1. There is no real reason why the first events would proceed much differently._

Chapter 1 Part 1: Old Woman

Anna hobbled through the forest, collecting small sticks for firewood. Her family lived almost a mile away in a small trailer camp with almost fifty other people. They needed firewood to keep warm in the frozen tundra, so she and the other elders who were too old to do more difficult work spent their days in the snow, finding dry sticks where they could. It was difficult, especially for one so old as her. However, her father Anatoly had always taught her to keep fighting, no matter what.

She could hear his gruff voice even now, lecturing her in front of a roaring fireplace, her dangling on his knee. _We do not complain. Bear through it, little Anna._ Anna's weathered lips moved into a smile at the pleasant memory. It was one of the only pleasant ones she had to hold into in these dreary and tough times.

The old woman kept hobbling forward, picking up the best sticks where she could. Straight and dry were the best. All went into a polyester backpack slung over her shoulder, which looked quite out of place with the rest of what she was wearing: thick jacket made of some kind of furs, and an equally thick dress which was wide enough to leave her legs free to move easily.

Anna walked forward, hands brushing over occasional pieces of firewood, testing their strength before she moved on. Some were scooped up in passing and placed in the backpack. She moved through the forest, picking up sticks like a vacuum.

In front of Anna, a stick jutted half out of the ground at a right angle. It looked incredibly dry, and was big enough to feed a fire for an hour, so Anna hobbled over. She gave it an experimental tug, and felt it budge a little bit. She pulled harder, straining with difficulty to pull it out. It moved a couple inches. Anna pulled again, gritting her worn teeth against the back pain.

Her father's lessons applied, and the stick started to move out of the snow, still dry. The weather was so cold that the snow didn't melt at all, meaning that even things inside a snowbank were dry as bone.

Anna gave a final pull, and the stick came out. Exactly as the stick came out of the ground, there was a sudden bang, reverberated around the mountains and forests. The air around her shuddered and snapped, before springing back to normal. She stumbled back and fell over, startled. When she looked up again, all she saw was a massive, black stone wall. Her gaze traveled up. More stones. Hundreds. Thousands, forming a wall. The walls were richly decorated with gold and gemstones, but Anna didn't even entertain the thought of stealing one, such was the grandeur of the wall.

Her gaze traveled to the left a bit, and she saw the walls end in a giant gate. Through the gate, she saw a rich and mysteriously grassy courtyard, with about 40 giant stone statues lining a path down it, ending in a giant skeleton. The whole area was unbelievably grand, beautiful, and almost mystical. Anna's last thought before she was knocked unconscious by a mysterious force was: _I should have left the damn stick in the ground._

Part 2: Ainz

Ainz waved his bony hand, causing the view to change to the left. He was looking at the Mirror of Remote Viewing, checking out the surrounding area. His hand twitched, and the view zoomed a couple hundred meters to the left. Ainz sighed, and lazily swished his hand in a circle, causing the camera view to go wild. He had been at this for almost an hour, attempting to scout out the nearby terrain, with no luck. He had been tempted to fly around himself, but the air was disgusting and visibility was poor, so he had decided against it.

Suddenly, the first movement he had seen in an hour flashed across the screen. He quickly maneuvered the view behind it, and cocked his head. It was some sort of mammal. _A deer? I remember hearing about them in school. But didn't they have antlers and only four legs?_

This deer had strange horn-like growths over its body, and an extra limb coming from its chest. Its coat was russet brown streaked with black and red. The deer seemed to maneuver elegantly, expertly climbing the rocky terrain with the assistance of its extra limb. It moved so fluidly that Ainz was convinced he had remembered about deer incorrectly, and that they did in fact have five legs.

The animal was fascinating, but Ainz had more important things to do. He was about to scroll away when the deer suddenly jerked. Blood fountained from its chest, and it reared, and then fell, sliding down the slope it had been climbing. _Some sort of magic? What killed it? Was that a predator or a monster?"_

He looked around, and then saw movement heading towards the body. The bushes were jerked aside, revealing the shape of a bipedal monster, walking towards the deer. It had two arms, two legs, but one of its arms was much longer than the other. Ainz watched with baited breath, knowing that this would be his first taste of the denizens of this world.

The figure stepped into light, revealing itself to be… a man. He held a stick-like weapons in his hand, which caused that arm to appear longer, and he was wearing synthetic clothing similar to Suzuki's clothes _I mean MY clothes_. It was grey, held onto the man's body by straps of a black material. The man wore a… _Is that a breathing mask? Is he holding a Mag rifle? Aren't those only for Enforcers? Wait, don't assume we are on Earth. It seems impossible. But... maybe._

As Ainz watched, the man took a blade out of his pocket. He appeared to press a button, and the knife glowed blue. The snow falling near the blade melted, and the man moved his face away from it as well. However, the light sputtered out and died after a second. The man gave the knife a shake, and it glowed back to man proceeded to cut off the growths and extra limb from the deer, which he then left in the snow. A strange fluid part red with streaks of bubbling green leaked out of the deers severed limb.

The man tied together the legs of the deer with a thin cord, and left it for a second while he fished around his pockets. He pulled out three disks, and pressed buttons on each of them. The disks glowed green, and hovered into the air. He tied the ropes to the disks, causing them to sag in the air as they struggled to lift the deer. The man walked over to the deer and hoisted it on his shoulder. Assisted by the disks, he staggered away under the weight of the deer.

Ainz knew he didn't have long before the man walked out of the range of the Mirror

[Message]

"Sebas, please report. Where are you?" There is a human of unknown power 30 miles east of Nazarick. Are you nearby?"

"Ainz-sama! I am 45 miles west, near a frozen lake. Do you wish for me to broadcast my location?"

"Sebas, do you believe you could make it 30 miles east of Nazarick within ten minutes?"

"Perhaps if I used [Mind Over Matter], but I am not confident that would be sufficient. Do you desire that I attempt it?"

"No, Sebas, forget I asked. Please continue exploration. Prioritize stealth over anything else, understand."

"Yes, my lord."

Ainz terminated the [Message] and thought hard. He didn't have very long to catch the man, and he knew it was very important to capture him. _What was it Punitto Moe-san always said? Information is the key to speedy victory._ He pondered how accomplish his objectives while not placing himself at risk. _I believe I am a good choice to go. I already know the teleportation location, and it'll save time for me to go as I won't have to share it or review anything with a Guardian. Also, as the only former human here, I think I'm the best choice to deal with another human. Sebas is too far away. But how to keep safe? I could summon some monsters or use Albedo's skill. That would work, no?_

His mind made up, Ainz cast another [Message], revelling in the incredibly real feeling of casting even such an insignificant spell. A minuscule amount of mana flowed into the spell, and then the connection was made.

"Albedo, I have need of you. Please come to my chambers."

"Ainz-sama! You have need of me in your chambers? Do you want me to remove my clothes, or leave them on? Perhaps you would like to rip them off yourself? May I be allowed bathe first?"

Ainz was confused for a second, and then he realized what she had thought.

"No, no Albedo. Nothing like that. Please, ah, leave your clothes on. I simply believe I may need your help with a task."

Albedo's response seemed quite dispirited.

"Very well, Ainz-sama. It is my pleasure to serve you."

Minutes later, the door opened and the beautiful succubus stepped through. Upon entering the room, she bowed before Ainz, spreading her wings so they were out of the way.

"My lord, I await your command."

"Ah, hello Albedo. Thank you for coming."

"Of course, I would always come at your request."

She looked coquettishly at him, yellow eyes dilating in a mesmerizing effect.

"May I ask why you summoned me to your chamber if not to-"

Ainz interrupted before she could finish the subject.

"-I noticed the first signs of inteligent life recently. There was an animal I believe is known as a deer, and a human with a weapon familiar to me. I have judged it important to retrieve him before he escapes, and I wanted to bring you for safety reasons. I am familiar with the weapon, but for reasons only understandable to a fellow Supreme Being, I don't know how deadly this weapon would be to us."

Albedo nodded, not willing to ask further questions when the wisest being in Nazarick had already assured her she would not comprehend.

"Shall I bring the World Item my Creator bestowed upon me?"

Ainz thought for a second, considering the possible benefits and negatives.

"No, I don't think that we will need to use its ability, so it is better to leave it."

"Of course."

"I trust you to be properly prepared, with your armor and your weapons in full condition. Please be ready as soon as possiblem, as our avenue of time is short. Meet me at the exit to Nazarick"

She bowed her head, and exited the room gracefully when Ainz dismissed her. Ainz twisted the Ring on his finger, causing the scenery to warp and shift. When the world reset itself, he stood at the exit of Nazarick, in the sun. Some distance away, he spotted the ground moving in waves, crushing trees against the walls of the Great Tomb as Mare's magic molded the earth to hide the Tomb from prying eyes. Ainz made a mental note to reward the boy when the time came.

Suddenly, he felt a mental tug as he was alerted that his Toxin Immunity was coming into play. Ainz looked around, confused. Toxin was different from Poison in that it was usually a field effect, rather than an attack modifier. For instance, it wasn't a spell, so much as a type of terrain. Ainz was startled from his thoughts on the existence of a Toxin effect by Albedo teleporting into existence beside him. She was dressed in her black armor, covering her body from head to toe.

She kneeled in his direction.

"Ainz-sama, we are ready."

Ainz nodded, and bid her to get up. After much fuss, she did. Ainz prepared to cast [Gate], once again looking forward to casting any sort of spell. As always, the fire of using magic filled him, exhilarating him in way that few things had before he became Momonga. The portal snapped into existence in front of him, and he stepped through.

Part 3: Igor Markovich

Igor groaned a little under his breath. Carrying the deer was difficult even with the assistance of Tekcorp drones, and the weight made him clumsy. As a result, he had slipped on a patch of ice, and staggered against a tree. That in itself was no problem- it happened frequently. What was a problem was that his radiation suit had torn open on his shoulder, leaving only some cotton between him and the radiation leftover from the 2130s.

He had to hustle home and try to scrounge a repair before he suffered negative effects. He looked at the marks where he had cut the growths off of the deer resting on his shoulders warily. _Don't want to end up like the deer._ He kept walking, one step at a time. Igor knew that the town was a few miles down the stream bed, and the knowledge that he was almost there filled him with strength.

He walked along the pebbled stream bed for approximately ten minutes, carrying the deer. With every step, he cursed, breathing out mist which landed on his beard and froze into icicles. Eventually, he reached the spot where usually sat and rested on his hunting runs. The spot was a flat place in the side of the riverbed, unlike the usual steep walls that were on either side of the river. A straggly tree lay there, with its cragged roots meeting in one place to form a flat seat. A small shelter was built nearby out of aluminum and poles.

Igor huffed, and managed to climb up the small incline. He walked on the dirt, avoiding the slippery stones, and stopped in front of the tree.

Igor eased the deer of his shoulder and turned off the Tekcorp drones to conserve battery life, and he leaned against the wide and comfortable tree trunk. He had sanded it down a while ago to be more comfortable. _One of my better ideas._

He sat back, and started to inspect his suit. The hole was worse than he had originally thought, a wide gash stretching a few inches. He pulled out a piece of thread and started sewing the hole closed while he rested. _Won't help much, but it's better than nothing._

His exposed fingers were numb from the cold, and his knitting was getting slower and slower. However, he was determined to finish the job. His grandma always told him: _Bear with it, Igor. We do not complain._ However, a cold wind blew, and the needle was blown from his fingers. it was whisked down the stream bed, flipping end over end in the strong wind.

Igor kept his eyes on the gleaming metal as it flew away, and crawled after it once it landed. Just as his hand closed on it once more, there was a bright flash of purple light. He glanced up, and his eyes widened at what he saw. A hole in spacetime had opened, glowing with purple and black light. The edges of the portal warbled and waved, but it still seemed to have a firm rectangular barrier. As he watched, the edges solidified into a solid rectangle.

He leapt to his feet, reaching for his Mag rifle. He picked it up and angled it towards the portal, prepared to shoot whatever came through. _This must be some sort of Megacorp technology coming for me!_ His fingers were trembling and twitching on the trigger, part itching to shoot, part dreading it.

A black silhouette started to show in the portal, solidifying into a shape of a heavily armored feminine shape carrying a black mace which glowed with green light. However, at her waist, wings emerged. Igor blinked in confusion, but he couldn't ponder her possible identity as a furry for long. Behind her, a tall and broad silhouette emerged from the murky depths of the gate, carrying a staff. Fires burned where eyes should be, and instead of flesh, there was only bone. He swung his rifle between the two of them.

Igor closed his eyes for a second to get his bearings on reality. _I'm just dreaming, I must be. This radiation must have gotten to me more than I thought!_ The monstrous skeleton stepped through the portal, which closed behind him. Igor got the feeling like a great evil had just stepped through dimensions and entered the world. Igor clutched his fingers into a fist, which he slapped against his thigh, a reflexive ward against evil taught to him by his grandmother, Anna.

"What are you? Am I dreaming?"

His voice rasped like he was dying. However, the monsters gave no response. Instead, the skeleton raised a hand.

[Detect Level]

Igor heard a grand and masculine voice echo forth.

"Hmm, he seems to only be level two. Pitiful. I'm sorry for making you waste your skill, Albedo."

"My lord, don't say such things! I value your safety above all other things! If I had let you be injured, if I had placed you in harms way…!"

The woman, who must be Albedo, placed gauntleted hands where a heart would be, and writhed with passion as she addressed the skeleton. Igor felt an inherent disgust at their allegiance, as if two fundamental opposites became one. _The living and the dead._ The skeleton raised his jewel bedecked hand again.

[Impact]

The rich voice was the last thing that Igor heard as a tremendous force buffeted his head. His last sensation was flying to the side, and skidding against the ground. The impact with the ground hit hard, and the world snapped to black.

 **A/N Hope you enjoyed! Leave reviews if you have a problem with some element of the story, I' will definitely respond. As always, Hail Ainz-sama.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I know I kind of left this Fanfic behind, but I want to pick it up again. Hope you enjoy after the long hiatus.**

Ainz walked forward until he stood over the body of the unconscious human. A massive bruise was quickly forming on the side of its head, turning purple. _As expected of a level two._ He had chosen [Impact] as one of the only spells in his repertoire that might not kill the low leveled human. Ainz reached forward and picked up the Mag Rifle, holding it up to his fleshless face.

[Detect Level]

He cast the spell again, but this time on the weapon. _Level… 20! Surprisingly high level, but I guess that's what the wonders of technology bring._ At his feet, the man groaned, starting to move. Before Ainz could react, Albedo stepped up, bringing her halberd up quickly. She poised to bring it crashing down on his defenseless head.

"Wait!"

She immediately stopped, jerking herself backward into a kneeling position faster than the eye could follow.

"He may still be useful to us. It is unwise to waste opportunities, since we are in an unfamiliar environment."

Ainz was momentarily surprised that he could give such a dispassionate judgement, but he buried it in the back of his mind. He had more important things to do. Ainz placed the Mag Rifle in his inventory, and then turned towards the human.

[Summon Loadbearer]

The ground heaved, and an ape-like being leaped out of a crack which closed with a snap as soon as the ape was on the ground. The summon had a broad and flat back, as well as thick muscles on its entire body.

In the game you would select the Loadbearer and then ping an item or an object. If the Loadbearer could, it would lift the item. It could be further directed to follow behind you. Instinctively, Ainz visualized the Loadbearer picking up the man, and following him. To his surprise, the animal did just that, responding to his mental cues instantaneously.

Ainz turned around and entered the portal, followed by Albedo and the Loadbearer, who was carrying the man. Ainz cast [Message]

"Demiurge, we have captured a local denizen of this world. Please prepare to receive him."

Ainz hoped that the instruction he gave was vague enough that Demiurge would choose the best course of action on his own, while not just killing him.

"As expected of Lord Ainz, to think that mere moments after announcing your desire to learn about this world, you have already secured means of doing so!"

"Eh? Ah, it was nothing."

Twenty minutes later, Ainz, Albedo, Demiurge, and the man were all in the Blazing Temple on the 7th Floor . The man was laying on his back, naked, on an obsidian table, still unconscious.

"Wake him up and begin."

"Yes, Lord Demiurge."

One of the demons in attendance held up a blazing finger, and pressed it into the man's cheek, causing the smell of burning flesh to fill the air. Albedo held a delicate finger to her nose. The man gasped in pain, and sat up, eyes wide open. He scrambled back off of the table, landing on the floor. He crawled back as the demon loomed over him, dragging himself away from them. Ainz glanced at Demiurge, and was grateful when the Archdevil took it as a hint. Demiurge activated his Command Mantra

"Sit on the table and don't attempt to get off."

The man straightened, and walked over to the table, his face a rictus of horror and amazement. Ainz decided now would be a good time to intervene.

"Greetings. I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the master of this realm."

The man looked around the blazing hellscape, and at the two demons and the succubus.

"Ar-are you Michael?"

Ainz was confused momentarily. _Does he think I'm a person?_ However, after a moment's reflection, he realized that Michael was the Archangel of death in Jewish mythology. He decided to go forward on that assumption.

"Ah, no. I am an Overlord, not a Archangel. In any case, you are lucky, for I have seen fit to let you keep your life as you may have use to me yet. I require information."

"About what? Who are you? What do you want?"

"Where are you from?"

The man didn't answer until Demiurge prompted him to with another command.

"I am from Russia, in a small town near the border of the European Conglomerate called Singesburg. I live there with twenty five other people, including six children."

The man appeared to be straining against the mental shackles of Demiurge's potent mind, but he was unable to even consider resistance due to the power of Command Mantra

However, what he had said was already more than enough for Ainz to cast aside all doubts. There was no question. He was on Earth.

~~Two Days Later~~

They hadn't been doing as well without Anna and Igor. In an inhospitable place like the icy forests of Russia, losing even one person was a disaster. They could no longer keep the fires burning as long without Anna looking for wood, and the children weren't as well fed without Igor's hunting. Sure, there were two fewer mouths to feed, but the end result was a loss in terms of chances of survival.

The leader, Elder Okav, had decided that they would need to simply work harder than ever before. If they had fewer people, then those people would need to pick up the slack. As a result Andrey had been forced to work on the new house at only 10. He was old enough to carry around tools for the older men, and apply mortar to holes in the wall. However, the cold bit at his fingers, and he was tired and hungry.

"Maman, can I sit down? I've been working for an hour!"

"Hush, child."

Andrey's little face formed a frown. _Maman never listens to me. I know I'm about to pass out._ However, two hours passed before he was allowed to take a brief break. He leaned against a gnarled pine tree, snug underneath its branches. There was no snow under the tree, and the branches dipped low to the ground, forming an insulated and warm area to take a brief rest.

 _Ahhh, delicious._ He munched on an apple in his hand. It had been purchased from one of the merchants in Moscow almost a year ago, but it was still as ripe as it had ever been. He pulled out his newest fantasy novel, _Ascension_ , and began reading by the light of the glowing apple.

The apples glow wasn't very bright, but in the shade of the tree, it was sufficient to read by. He read for about half an hour before putting the book down. _What was that?_ He cocked an ear for a second. There was definitely a sound growing closer, a screaming noise overlayed with sounds of many bodies desperately crashing through the forest.

He peeked out from underneath the thick boughs of the tree, and watched in horror at what he saw. Ten of the members of his tribe were dashing toward the camp, running full out. They were all hunters, but they appeared to have all abandoned their valuable gear in favor of speed. Andrey wouldn't have been so horrified if not for the looks of obvious terror on their faces. _It must be the Corporation._ Andrey didn't know what the Corporation was, but his parents talked about it as an all-seeing and dangerous enemy, so he instantly assumed they were the threat.

Strange, shadowy beings leapt from the treetops in blurs, moving so quickly he could scarcely see them. As he watched, the landed in front of the fleeing hunters, and attacked them. There were flashes of light, and blurry shadow as they assaulted the running men. The one sided conflict was over in seconds, and the shadows blurred again, fading from sight, leaving only a small pile of corpses on the ground.

He saw his uncle, his cousin, his aunt. All were dead. Suddenly, the horrors of the world which had always been stressed to Andrey took on a new reality. Tales of boogeymen aren't frightening till the monster shows up on your doorstep, knife in hand. As he watched, there was a final flash of light, and the last hunter was cut down.

The shadows stopped blurring and moving after their last kill, and simply stood still in an orderly line. All of the palpable menace was gone, and they looked more like statues than anything. They made for horrific statues, however, grotesque skeletons clad in the gear of ancient ninjas. In front of them, three more figures had suddenly appeared. Andrey was only ten, but he could still recognize the beauty of the three figures. They were all human women.

One was elegant, and had an air of sophistication. She wore glasses, and had a neat bun.

Another seemed unmoving. One of her eyes was behind an eyepatch, and she had a strangely colored scarf on. She held a gun of some kind in her hand.

The final seemed energetic despite standing still, and had bright red hair ending in two ponytails reaching her waist.

Every conceivable part of the three women was perfect, far outclassing the women of Andrey's village.

The screaming of the tribesmen who had seen the hunters get slaughtered died out, and they fell silent, entranced by the three women. The elegant one stepped forward, towards the skeletal beings.

"Begone!"

She clapped her hands, and a wave of force spread out from them, knocking the skeletons backwards. The women with the scarf raised her guns, and fired at the skeletons, forcing them backwards. The ninjas backflipped and swerved, however they couldn't dodge the woman's unerring aim. As he watched, the skeletons disappeared, fading back into the woods.

What had been a formidable and unknown threat had suddenly been easily vanquished.

 _They saved us!_

All around him, his fellow villagers were gasping in shock and awe. They raised their voices in gratitude.

"...Angels!"

"You saved us!"

"What were those things?"

The red haired women stepped forward and smiled.

"Hello everyone! My name is Lupusregina, but you can call me Lupu~su!"

The clamor died down at the sound of their new savior's voice, and they all took a few steps forward to better hear.

"We have been sent by our master to help you guys. We will protect you from all threats, such as those monsters. You're welcome!~su"

The villagers didn't know how to feel. Even to Andrey, it sounded too good to be true. Since when did powerful strangers come from nowhere to help? _Unless they are angels…_ Andrey dismissed the thought, and kept watching.

"Were those mutants? I've never seen one before."

The question was directed at the women from one of the men standing nearby.

"Oh, ah, yes, of course! We will protect you from the mutants, like those!"

Elder Okav stepped forward, leaning on his cane.

"Such an offer is almost too generous to even consider refusing! And yet, in my life, I have learned that nothing comes for free. Why would you help us like this?"

The elegant women stepped forward. Andrey noticed she had spiky gloves on the ends of her long arms. She turned toward the village elder, and bowed slightly despite his protestation when addressing him.

"That is the reasonable question, honored elder. Indeed, there is a catch, if not quite a price. We have a master, as does everyone, and the Supreme Being requires your presence. He requires your help on certain matters which will be revealed to you in time. Is that sufficient reason?"

 _They call their elder a 'Supreme Being?' That's a little weird._ The elder tilted his grizzled head for a second before responding.

"My lady, I regret wasting your time like this, but I would be a thousand times more obliged to agree if the exact nature of these matters was revealed to us."

 _That's elder, always thinking ahead!_ Andrey was filled with confidence that the elder would see them through all that opposed them.

"Our master has a mind which far surpasses our own, so regretfully, we cannot tell you exactly. However, he is very kind, so I can assume you will be used as a representative of our home, perhaps? We are new to the diplomatic field."

The elder nodded. It was a slightly confusing answer, as it raised the question why this village in particular were suitable representatives, but at least it was an answer.

"If you promise that no harm will come to us, then we gladly accept your proposal."

The air seemed jubilant and hopeful. The women were powerful and gorgeous. Most of all, the offer seemed like an outstretched hand from heaven. And yet, something stirred within Andrey's childlike mind, a sense that not all was what it seemed.

Monitor 1- 10: blue. Monitors 11-20: Blue. All of the panels were blue, and Ivanovsky bathed in their gentle glow. He felt good knowing that he was the eye in the sky for all of the villages in the area. _No mutants or radiation build-ups are going to harm anybody under MY watch!_

He eyed all of the maps and sensory panels, before turning back to the blue panels. He swept his gaze over them again, as he did every twenty minutes. Monitor 1- 10: blue. Monitors 11-20: Blue. He was about to go for another spin in his chair, when he noticed something. One of the panels was flashing red in bursts of three flashes, and then a long blue pause. He racked his mind for what it meant.

 _Flashing red means radiation which is unknown? Yes! ...I'm the best._ Satisfied that he had identified the threat, he turned to the manuel. _In case of unknown radiation build-up, contact Captain and attempt to get direct view of area with a satellite._

He picked up his comm, and started speaking.

"Captain Ilovich, we have an unknown radiation build-up in…"

He squinted at the flashing panel.

"... Sector 13. Requesting your presence."

"Sure thing, Ivan. I'll be right over."

Ivan sighed. He tried to act incredibly professional, but his captain was so laid back. _Well, it's probably just a malfunction._

Having contacted his superior, he moved on to step 2 of the manuel. He wheeled his chair over to a computer, and began typing in codes. He quickly accessed the sector satellite, and maneuvered it to point at the cause of the disturbance.

 _Hmm, maybe it isn't a malfunction after all._

There was definitely something unusual in the area. He began to maneuver the satellite's view even closer, zooming in and panning sideways. Next to him, Captain Ilovich arrived from his position deeper in the bunker, and watched.

"Well, there's something there. Could it be a Conglomerate Power Plant?"

"Maybe, Captain."

He zoomed closer, finally coming to a rest. What he saw confused him. Instead of a power plant, there was a massive greek style building. There were rows of statues inside its main wall, which circled the building in a horseshoe arc.

The camera focused. Suddenly, the camera froze. For half a second, Ivan could swear he saw a row of three runes cover the screen. Then,Eevery panel in the entire room started to flash red, and alarms began to blare. Ivanovsky jerked backwards in shock, knocking himself and the captain backwards. It was an action which saved both of their lives.

The entire setup of panels detonated in a massive fireball, which swept overhead. Everything in its path was burned to a crisp, including Ivanovsky beloved chair, three interns, and a Intelligence Sergeant

After the blast cleared, there was a brief moment of silence as everyone took in their surroundings. There was a crack in the bunker wall, letting a stream of light from outside come in, and all of the monitors and chairs were either broken or knocked over.

After a second, the backup generator clicked on, and the cracked and broken monitors started to glow green, coming back to life. They they struggled to hover back into their usual positions, though most were unable. In front of Ivan, one of his monitors was lying on the ground. It had turned on, and the words _Under Attack_ were scrawled on it.

Ivan slowly got up from underneath the unconscious captain and looked around.

"What just happened?"

 **For all wondering, those skeletons were Hanzos, and yes, the Pleiades couldn't defeat them. It was all staged. Also, if you are confused, the apple glows because it was radioactive. Please, leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, please let me know in the review section if you want the Supreme Beings to be returned or if you want them to be human.**

Ainz was walking through the deserted village. All around him, crudely made huts stood in eerie silence, covered in snow. The villagers were safely in Nazarick, so he had decided to examine their homes. Part of it was an idle curiosity- as Suzuki Satoru, he had never seen any way of life except for a city slum. However, his main reason was to look for one thing- a computer.

If there were any humans he could trust, it would be his friends. A computer would allow him to get in touch with them, to gather them. Even if they were always human, it would be a huge relief to talk to them again. _It never crossed my mind that the next time we met in Nazarick would be on Earth…_

He ducked his head to enter a hut, stooping his nine foot tall frame to enter. Three Hanzo's were waiting outside in the snow after having thoroughly examined the entire village. Ainz was fairly confident nothing in the world could kill him without him being able to escape, but Albedo had insisted he bring at least this much security with him everywhere he went.

Inside the hut, a tallow candle burned faintly. The villagers had neglected to put it out before leaving, and the room had smoke clinging under the ceiling as a result. It lent a mysterious and homey air to the entire abode.

This was the largest of the huts, so he had assumed all equipment of value would be stored here. He walked through the foyer and into the room lying behind it. It was a sort of living room, and had a black sheet covering one wall. He recognized it as a PS, a projection sheet. They were cheap and portable screens which could be hooked up to a computer or a program, and they would display it. Indeed, plugged into the wall the PS was a table with a piece of tape on it which read: 'Computer' _.'_ Sitting on the table was a group of slim cartridges, with the covers of games and various movies on them. None of that was useful to Ainz, so he kept looking. He was looking for the ApCorp Drive, which had the functions of a computer such as email. With a sigh, Ainz left the hut.

 _I wonder if I could get the guardians or a summon to steal a computer from a city. But, how do I explain why I want one without letting them know the 'Supreme Beings' are humans? How would they react if they found out_ I _was human?_

Ainz continued to ponder the quandary as he teleported back to his office in Nazarick. However, the answer came moments later.

"Lord Ainz knows so much about this world already. It's incredible, but sometimes I wonder how he does it."

The voice of one of the maids echoed from the hallway.

"Don't be silly! Supreme Beings know everything."

"How foolish of me to forget that! Truly, we are blessed that he remained here with us."

 _That's it! I'll just say that I know about the world because I'm a Supreme Being._ Ainz felt a huge sense of relief that his problem had been inadvertently solved by a hapless maid walking by. Now that he had an explanation for his knowledge of computers, he was free to ask the guardians to procure one.

He began thinking aloud to himself.

"I'll call a meeting as soon as we get the villagers sorted out. It would be a good time to explain the state of this world to the guardians, and ask for a computer."

The Supreme Overlord of Nazarick settled back into his chair, and reviewed some of the ideas Demiurge had sent him to look over. _He wants to see how the humans from the village react to me? If Demiurge suggested it, it must be a good idea. I guess I'll head over there once I finish my work._ He put the idea into the folder of accepted ideas, and picked up another piece of paper from the seemingly endless pile.

Shalltear was standing on a marble dias on the 1st Floor, overlooking the human villagers gathered below her in the distance. They were huddled together, occasionally glancing up in awe at the sheer size of the room they were in. _They should be in awe of the Supreme Being's creation!_

Marble pillars stretched out for seeming endless expanses, disappearing in a gentle gray mist which obscured the distance. The roof seemed to stretch miles in the air, though Shalltear knew it was closer to 200 feet. The roof was decorated with frescoes of the Supreme Beings destroying their enemies, stylized paintings of Lord Ainz himself crushing the skull of an invading player in his grip. Shalltears heart swayed as she saw the image of Lord Peroroncino. In one taloned hand he held his bow, while he had Shalltear herself on his lap.

Shalltear had always wondered if the moment had happened and she hadn't remembered it, or if it was simply a painting. _I would never forget that!_ _It must have been Lord Peroroncino wish to have it put there. Did he desire me? ~ohh…!_

She trembled a bit, before suddenly snapping to attention. Far below her, her keen ears had picked out the sound of a human talking.

"I don't like it here! It's so cold, and it smells funny. Can I go home, Dada?"

Her whole body was filled with incandescent rage. She leapt down from her place on the dias, and flew towards the small boy who had complained. She ripped his head off of his shoulders, and incinerated his body in front of the screaming parents, ignoring even the scent of blood in her anger.

Or at least, she dearly wanted to do that. However, the Supreme Being had ordered her to simply watch, and make sure they didn't damage anything. She smiled slightly as she thought of the Supreme One's trust in her. Just like that, she was happy again.

Below her, the humans were standing around, or leaning against the pristine pillars. When they had been brought here in the morning, they had initially been glad to be in such an amazing place. They had stared around in wonder for half an hour. Eventually, however, they had become less enthusiastic. Boredom had set in, which led to anger. Eventually, they had even sent out scouts to see how big the area was. Shalltear had caught up to them before they entered the Labyrinth of Doomed Souls, and turned them back to the 'camp,' with some memory loss.

However, she knew it was time. Demiurge had told her to let the humans sit for awhile, saying that Ainz haven't given them any orders regarding the humans, they should simply leave them alone, providing them only with food and drink every couple hours.

"Shalltear."

Shalltear would have recognized that magnificent voice even if she lived a hundred years without hearing it again.

"Lord Ainz! How may I be of service?"

"Please prepare for me to introduce myself to the people. I will be down in ten minutes. Try to impress them the nature of my character, don't make them afraid."

"Yes, Lord!"

The [Message] terminated, and Shalltear stood up from where she was kneeling, full of energy. She glanced at the Vampire Brides standing quietly on the marble dias next to her.

"Alright, you lazy lot! Get ready, the Supreme One wants to meet with those lowly humans. We must make those animals understand his greatness!"

"How shall we do that, Lady Shalltear?"

"Hmm… Maybe tell them? Ah, leave it to me. Let's go!"

She raised a finger, and a [Gate] appeared in front of her, swirling dirt and dust across the top of the pillar. It cast a muted purple light that would have been visible to the humans had they looked up. However, they were too amazed by the other part of the [Gate] which had appeared in front of them.

She calmly walked through, followed by her Vampire Brides.

"I don't like it here! It's so cold, and it smells funny. Can I go home, Dada?"

Andrey looked at his dad expectantly. They had been here for several hours, and the Place was huge. His parents told him they were in a 'Toom,' but he didn't know what that was, so he called it the Place instead. He had spent a few hours just looking at the amazing designs on the ceiling, but he was bored now. And hungry. Tired. Cold, most of all.

"Hush, Andrey. You can sit in my lap if you are cold, but shut up."

Andrey knew his dad had grown tired of his constant whining, but he couldn't help himself. WIth a nod, he walked over to his dad, and sat on his lap. His dad was a big man, so Andrey could sit comfortably. He was about to get comfortable, when a wind suddenly blew on his face. He heard his dad gasp, and he opened his eyes.

In front of the group, a purple oval had appeared, whirling with fog and smoke. Its presence was incredible, blasting the area with a wind and light. It also had a feel to it, of power and magic.

Instinctively, everyone backed away from the vortex. Andrey could spy a silhouette slowly emerging from the swirling purple hole. A young girl stepped out, dressed in an elegant ball gown of white and gold silk. Her hair was platinum white, blowing out almost two feet to her left. It flapped in a mesmerizing way. However, what truly drew the eye was her face. It was perfect in every conceivable way, completely symmetrical. Right below the perfect face, a seemingly out of place bosom stood, drawing the eye of the men.

Andrey felt his father stand up, unceremoniously dropping him on the ground, but he was too absorbed by the girl. She seemed to be close to his age, based on her height at least, and Andrey immediately forgot all of his crushes. At that moment, he would have been hard-pressed to even remember their name. Behind the girl, two other women stood.

"Hello, everybody! I am Shalltear Bloodfallen, Guardian of this Floor. I have come to let you know that my Master, the Supreme Being, Ainz Ooal Gown, the ruler of the Great Tomb. He once again extends his hospitality, and will be personally visiting you in a moment. You may be frightened by the magnificence of his form, but do not disrespect him. I'd be forced to kill you, then, and nobody wants that."

Despite her diminutive form, a sense of palpable dread emanated from her. Not one of them doubted that she could carry through on her threat. However, one of them was too stupid to care.

"Hey, who's this Ainz guy anyway? Why has he left us here all day?"

"Please refer to him as 'Lord Ainz.' Additionally, it is not for you to know the desires of the Supreme Being."

"Where does he get off calling himself a Supreme Being? Listen, honey, if you ever get tired of his arrogant ass, I'm always here for you."

The man looked at the villagers confidentially.

"He must be some kind of monster, making a little kid dress up like that."

Shalltear's eyes suddenly glowed red. With a _whoosh_ , shadows congealed around her feet, swirling under her ballroom dress. An evil aura spread from her. The man gulped, and scrambled backwards. Everyone else backed away from him.

"How dare you? This dress was given to me by the Lord Peroroncino! You will know the price of your presumptuousness!"

The man let loose a girly scream, and pissed himself. Andrey stared in horror at the girl. She no longer looked like a demure and polite host, resembling a demon instead. He was holding his breath, waiting for her to smite the man down. However, one of the women standing behind the girl hurriedly ran forward and whispered something into her ears.

Amazingly, she calmed down. The air stopped seething, and the intense pressure ended. However, the room was still tense. No one could accept that she was a normal women, no matter how human she seemed. _Is she a mutant? Maybe a supersoldier?_ The supersoldier policemen of the megacorporations were supposedly far more powerful and capable than normal people, and Andrey had always wanted to see one.

"I apologize for that. I am under orders not to harm any of you, but if you disrespect my creator again, I won't hold back."

The word 'creator' echoed in their minds, causing some confusion. The girl continued speaking.

"The Supreme One will see you now. Please do not be alarmed."

They didn't have a chance to wonder what she wanted them to not be alarmed at before the world went black. Moments later, they found themselves standing in what could only be described as a Throne Room of the Gods. It was filled with wonders that they could have studied for days, but their attention was grabbed by something far more pressing.

At the end of the hall, six beings stood. One appeared to be a man of refined and elegant taste, dressed in a suit. However, he appeared to have a robotic limb of some sort protruding from his back. Andrey had heard that the wealthy elite enjoyed experimenting with such things, so he assumed the man was upper class.

Next to him stood a women with wings sprouting from her waist. Andrey prefered the girl from before, as terrifying as she was, but this women surely met her in every aspect of beauty. _Upper class are so lucky, being able to afford augmetics like this. Kinda weird, though._ Next to her, two dark skinned children stood together. They seemed pretty normal, though they were also supernaturally perfect.

However, the next being was plainly not human. It looked like some kind of insectoid robot, standing nearly three meters tall. It held weapons in its clawed hands, and it emitted an aura of frost. As the villagers slowly got up, pushing off the ornate carpet for support, it walked forward and stood next to the six being in front of the throne.

The sixth being was a distinguished elderly gentleman. Despite his obvious wealth, Andrey immediately wanted to impress him, to get the man to acknowledge him.

The old man nodded to the robot, and they both moved to the side, revealing the being sitting on the throne.

Andrey didn't know what to think. Apparently none of the other villagers did either, the being was so unlike anything they could even rationalize. Simply put, it was a skeleton. Logic demanded that it lie there on the throne, unmoving. Impossibly, its eyes flared red, and it leaned forward, before standing up. The villagers let out a shriek as one. Andrey was seized by an irrational mix of fear and hatred, and he turned and ran from the abomination standing on the throne.

"Stop."

They all ground to a sudden stop, totally unable to move.

"Walk back to the throne."

The voice controlling them was smooth and persuasive, but backed up by an iron will. Unable to do anything but obey, they turned and walked back to the throne. Andrey could barely think, his panic was so great _What the hell is happening?_ All of the stories his grandmother had told him around the fire came back to him, stories of zombies, dragons, and worse monsters still.

"Please, Demiurge, that is enough."

A measured and cultured voice spread through the hall. Andrey looked up in shock. Somehow, that dignified voice had come from the skeleton. _How is it talking? I can see through it!_

"I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. I'm sorry for the inhospitality of my subordinates. I apologize."

In the face of such manners, and an indefinable sense of charisma emanating from the skeleton, Andrey felt his fear quiet a little bit. His mind quieted, and his breathing calm. Next to him, the others seemed to be having similar reactions, though they were all plainly terrified.

"Now that I've given my name, it's expected you give me yours. Who is your leader?"

The elder stepped forward.

"I am. My name is Okav, and I lead this village. If I may ask, what are you? Why is a monster helping us? Are you actually helping us? What are-"

He was interrupted by the skeleton chuckling.

"Don't worry, my friend. I will explain everything."

He looked at the pinstriped man.

"Demiurge, Guardians, please leave us for a few moments. I shall call you back when I have need of you."

Obediently, the 'guardians' bowed, and left the room. When they were gone, the skeleton reclined on his throne again in an elegant and majestic gesture and gazed at them.

"As I said, my name is Ainz Ooal Gown. However, this was not always the case. Would you believe me if I told you that I was once a human like you?"

The question appeared to be rhetorical, so nobody answered. Ainz Ooal Gown continued

"Now, I find myself as an undead, in this world! Can you imagine my surprise? I have great power cradled in my hands, a massive responsibility. Although I am no longer human, I still remember my miserable life, run by the megacorporations. I would work all day for shit wages. You all can sympathize, I'm sure. You have spent your whole lives on the run from corrupt governments."

There were sounds of agreement from the crowd. They all could relate to the problems this monster was describing. Despite his formidable presence, they all felt themselves inexplicably warming to him.

"I want to bring down the megacorporations. I have been given awesome power, and in my mind, there is nothing more worthwhile than fighting for a good cause. Will you help me? Together, we can bring change to our home."

There was a beat of silence as everyone considered their options. They all knew they were in his power, and they had resigned themselves to an awful fate the second they had seen him. However, now, they felt different. Hopeful.

"I will. I have hated the megacorporations my whole life, and I would gladly do anything I can to fight them."

"I want a better life for my children."

"Those bastards killed my uncle!"

They had the distinct impression the skeleton was smiling in relief as, one by one, they all decided to support him. Finally, Okav stepped forward.

"May I ask why you need us? You seem to have plenty of resources."

"Good question. The answer is, I am undead. I need human representatives. Also, I wanted to test reactions to me. After all, you may be the only humans to have ever seen this face."

Elder Okav nodded.

"Now, does anyone have a computer?"

"Lord Ainz, if you would permit me to ask, how did you convince those humans to accept your rule?"

"Well, I suppose I simply understood what motivated them."

"Truly, your intelligence makes my own pale in comparison! How is it possible that you have divined their intentions and motivations after a few moments of conversation."

Demiurge thought he heard Lord Ainz mumble something.

"Pardon, my Lord?"

"Supreme Beings know everything."

 _NANIII?_

There were twelve chairs lined up around one side of the table. Each was made of exquisite leather, and Ivanovsky knew they were uniquely tailored to hold their inhabitants comfortably. On the other side of the table was Ivanovsky. He was seated all alone on a rickety chair, surrounded by frowning security guards and the scrutiny of the twelve councilors of the Regency Council.

One of the councilors leaned forward into a microphone.

"You say that a strange rune of some sort was present on the computer monitor shortly before it detonated?"

His voice was smooth and persuasive, modulated and expressive.

Ivanovsky nodded.

"Yes, sir. "

Another member leaned forward, holding a intel folder in his hand.

"This happened shortly after satelite 3bC1 panned over region 13A-13b2?"

"Yes, sir."

The first one spoke up again.

"Did you see anything, Private Ivanovsky?"

"No sir. All my monitors were blinking blue. Well, actually sir, on second thought I believe there was some sort of structure in that region.I got a glimpse of it, and it didn't look like anything I recognize. If I may, I suggest we send a team of operatives to scout it out."

A third member leaned forward.

"Private Ivanovsky, you are aware we have malware experts tracking down the virus which disabled the bunker. As you may recall, the EC is fond of sending viruses to attack us at random times to sow confusion. Are you sure sending operatives will not be a waste?"

"Sir, I believe that, while possible it was an unrelated attack, I am certain I saw something strange."

"Very well, private Ivanovsky. Dismissed."

 **That's all for today. Hope you liked. Also, leave a review if you had any issues or compliments for the story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the really long break, but I thought I might do this once again. Don't expect regular updates, but it is possible. Also, I tried to go for more, briefer character perspectives in this chapter. Let me know what you thought of it.**

"Adams, condition of vector six?"

"Copy. No movement."

"Any structures?"

"Yes sir. It appears to be a temple or something inside the wall. Marble statues in pristine condition, about forty."

"Johnson, any signs of radiation? Intel says this is a power plant of some kind."

"Intel is garbage, sir. There is no radiation, but my sensors are having a hard time penetrating. There's some sort of interruption around everything."

"Describe it, please."

"The images i'm getting are fuzzy, and keep moving in strange ways, like heat waves. Anyone else reading that?"

"Nope."

"No."

"Nah."

"No from me. We should get a sample of those statues, and take deeper analysis before moving in. Perhaps our equipment can tell us something."

Squad Delta Omega "Fish Talkers" was trained to deal with unknown threats of medium priority, and they had several types of sensory equipment in the transport.

"Yes sir. I'm at the statue now."

"Proceed with caution."

Orock walked forward, treading almost silently despite his heavy body armor. He crouched in front of one of the statues, and pulled out a delicate blade. Carefully, he scraped some of the material off and put it into a bag. The air thickened noticeably as he did so, causing them to instincitvly feel threatened. Moments later, it subsided.

"Did you notice that, Sarge?"

"Yes. Readings say it was some sort of localized atmospheric shift. Let's continue forward and ask questions later."

-Elsewhere-

 _Strange armor,_ mused Nigredo. _I've never seen anything like it._

She mentally decided to ask Lord Ainz about it when he arrived. She was certain the Supreme One would know what it was. Nigredo had spotted the team of five entering the area around Nazarick about forty minutes ago, and alerted the defences. Demiurge had assessed that the humans were no threat, and decided that observing their protocol and exact capabilities was more important than keeping bugs off of the lawn.

The Supreme One had agreed, and the NPC's had moved forward with the plan. As she watched, the men scampered behind a rock, and then slowly moved forward past it. From her perspective, a hovering viewpoint about ten feet behind them, it looked a bit ridiculous, but she did recognize the stealthiness of it.

She watched as one of the men poked his head above the boulder and swept some sort of visor mounted device in an arc in front of him. She received a mental alert that a scrying attempt had just been made on the surface as it happened, and quickly connected the dots.

Suddenly, the door to her room opened, and all went black.

She regained consciousness with the baby in her hands, and she smiled, knowing that it had been a member of the tomb who had opened the door. She often wondered why her creator had programmed this _specific_ security measure into her, but had assumed it was part of a greater plan. The Supreme Beings knew everything, therefore her quirks would be useful someday.

A rich voice reached her ears.

"Nigredo, what have you observed?"

Lord Ainz was standing in front of her, accompanied by Demiurge, and her sister, Albedo. She bowed her head and kneeled before addressing him.

"As Demiurge anticipated, my lord. They have proceeded with extreme caution around the walls, and have taken careful observations. Whatever they are, they are quite profesional."

She waved her hand, and the Crystal Mirror swung into focus, revealing the human squad again. Lord Ainz made a vague noise, prompting Albedo to look at him.

"My lord, is something wrong?"

"No, I simply recognize that armor. It is SWAT armor, used by this local government in delicate operations. I once had a friend who was killed by one. ...They must have sent a SWAT team to scout out this area after our Scrying Wards destroyed a satellite."

Albedo made a choked noise at the implication that mere humans had dared kill a friend of the Supreme One, but moved past it, as Lord Ainz appeared to be paying the statement no further attention. Nigredo asked a question which had dominated the minds of the residents of the Great Tomb recently.

"Lord Ainz, it seems like you know everything! How is it possible that you have already grasped exactly who and what they are?"

Lord Ainz coughed into his fist, seemingly embarrassed. The gesture caused Nigredo's heart to swell with love for their master, and she noticed a similar look on Albedo's face.

"Oh, I've, ah, simply visited this world before."

Albedo was preparing to launch another question when Demiurge raised a hand.

"Lord Ainz, it appears the humans are collecting samples from the Ventricite Statues. They have scraped a piece off the si-"

"WHATT? They dare defile the sacred property of Nazarick! They will pay with their lives!"

Albedo's outburst was calmed by Lord Ainz placing a bony hand on her arm.

"Calm down, Albedo. They will pay eventually, but we need them for now."

She managed to rein in her temper, and pressure in the room eased. Demiurge choose this moment to speak up.

"Lord Ainz, why do we need them? I intended to destroy them as soon as possible."

Lord Ainz appeared to ponder this for a second, before shaking his head.

"There's no need for that. Let us allow our PoP defenses to take care of them."

Demiurge bowed, but with a puzzled look on his face.

"Demiurge, why do you look so strange? Has something happened?"

Nigredo thought she detected a note of worry in her masters magnificent tenor, but dismissed it.

"My lord, I simply feel that it might be better to simply destroy them."

"Well, ah, if you think about it, I'm sure you will see it my way."

Demiurge's face became downcast and Nigredo winced internally. Even though she didn't understand the Master's intentions any better than Demiurge, she sympathized with Demiurge for the indirect rebuke. _Please, Demiurge, think of the answer! Don't let Lord Ainz be disappointed._

Demiurge bowed towards the Skeleton Overlord.

"Lord Ainz, if I may have a moment to discuss this with Albedo, I am sure I will be able to glimpse your plan. That is, unless you require me to be punished for my failure."

"Ah, that won't be necessary. Very well, you may confer with Albedo. I have other matters to deal with, but please come to me when you arrive at an answer and explain your reasoning to me."

Nigredo felt peace as her masters mercy and generosity were displayed. _Truly we are blessed he stayed behind for us._

-Elsewhere-

"Sarge, the scanner doesn't recognize this material at all, but it has some strange properties."

"Such as?"

"Well, despite looking like stone, it acts more like clay. It just freezes into place and gets hard when not being touched, but is quite easy to move around and sculpt. In fact, even though I could cut it off off the statue like butter, I can't damage it with my gun."

"Strange. Well, take some more samples, package them, and leave them here. We will collect them when we get back, and give them to the Science Division. I'm sure they will be interested.

Ghastev chimed into the comms conversation.

"Sarge, are you sure this is a good idea? Something about this place has me on edge. All these weird statues, that atmospheric shift, and this weird grass. I dunno, but I feel like we should get backup."

The squad made sounds of agreement, as almost everyone had been a little unnerved by the unnatural place.

"Boys, you do know there is no way that HQ is going to give us backup for a routine recon mission, right?"

"Sarge, could you please try anyway?"

"Very well."

He exited the conversation, allowing them to comm each other from their various places around the perimeter, and contacted HQ. He began by speaking the code phrase.

"Excuse me, but what line is this?"

"You have the wrong number. Please call somewhere else."

"No, I'm sure this is correct."

The operators tone immediately changed.

"Sargeant Izachai, do you have anything to report?"

"Yes sir! There are strange conditions in this place: an unknown type of rock, strange vegetation, and wild atmospheric irregularity. The boys are nervous and requesting back up."

"Unfortunately, Sargeant, we can't spare any operatives for such a low priority mission. I apologize, but that's the way it is."

Sargeant Izachai knew there was no point in arguing.

"Very well sir, but I would like it on the record that I asked."

"Granted. Please begin reconnaissance without further delay."

Izachai disconnected the comm, and reconnected to the team's comm.

"As I expected, no backup coming. Let's make this quick and routine. Has anyone spotted an entrance?"

"Yes sir, the Northeast side has a large and prominent entrance which is clearly visible."

"We will enter that way. Boys, don't be nervous. For all we know, there's nothing more than a crypt inside."

With that, he headed towards the Northeast side, noticing vague movement in the bushes as his team mates did as well. Eventually, they all grouped up in front of a massive gate. It was closed, but as they grew closer, the doors swung open silently and smoothly. He was impressed by the hydraulics, as even the enhanced sensors of his armor didn't detect any stress from moving the massive doors. _They must weigh at least a ton each_.

They hesitated in the opened doorway. Suddenly, the massive compound no longer seemed quite so abandoned.

"Its an automatic door or something. Let's just go in."

Reassured by his words, they followed him through the gates. Inside, there was a peaceful scene. Trees swayed gently in the wind, bearing unfamiliar fruits. Inside the walls, they saw the crypt entrance the drone had spotted out for them. It was an austere marble construct, standing starkly against the landscape. However, it also artfully complemented the greens and blues of the ground.

Without a word, the team followed Sargeant Izachai into the Tomb entrance. Hands gripped weapons tightly, and armor was adjusted.

-Elsewhere-

Demiurge and Albedo sat together in one of the common areas. They had put their heads together for about ten minutes, and answers were starting to come to light.

"Is it possible that Lord Ainz means to test our defences against the inhabitants of this world?"

Albedo nodded.

"It's definitely possible. I'd say its almost certain."

"There must be more than that to his plan. Lord Ainz is a ruler who conceals numerous strategies behind each move of a peice."

"Indeed."

"Perhaps he also intends to see who responds when we eliminate them?"

Demiurge frowned.

"Surely that objective would be accomplished by just killing them."

"But if they are slowly surrounded before being overwhelmed, they have the time to contact their superiors and request help. If we simply wipe them out, it would be too quick."

Demiurge smiled at Albedo's logic.

"Very good."

"Is there anything else?"

"I can name a few obvious things. We can take prisoners more easily, we can observe their psychology and protocol, though I fear only Lord Ainz can interpret that perfectly."

Albedo nodded along.

"Also, this would help train Shalltear in organizing the defense of her floor."

Finally satisfied that they had managed to interpret their masters sagacious orders, their mood brightened, only to fall moments later.

"It took us twenty minutes of combined thinking to realize what Lord Ainz instantly thought of on his own."

"Truly we have miles left to climb."

-Elsewhere-

They walked forward, their night vision goggles flashing green in the gloom. The nanites on the bottoms of their boots were adjusting to the terrain as they walked, giving them perfect balance and allowing them to walk silently. It was so quiet that they quickly heard the sound approaching. A rhythmic skittering stomp, like the sound of many hollow and thin appendages striking the ground in unison. As one, they stopped and prepared for combat. Jenkins set up his energy barrier, casting a sickly green glow over the walls of the tight hallway they were in. Johnson drew his energy blades and stood next to him, while Orock and Ghastev set up their burst weapons. Sargeant Izachai drew a powerful railgun, and drew the sight to his eye.

However, even this veteran and prepared team was caught by surprise at what walked around the corner. A bare skeleton, walking in jerky motions and holding a knife appeared, followed by others wielding spears and swords. All were dressed in sparse rags, and green lights burned in their eyes.

"What the hell?"

"Are those skeletons? How are they moving?"

"Just like Nana's stories…"

Izachai knew his squad was terrified, and he acted quickly.

"Whatever they are, we can beat them. Watch!"

He loosed a shot from his railgun, and prayed it would work. The railgun exploded against the wall behind the skeletons, throwing shrapnel everywhere which shattered against the energy barrier. However, the abominations were utterly destroyed, falling apart. _It is only bone, after all. Can't stand up to a railgun._

The squad listened for a few minutes, looking at the shattered bones lying on the floor in mute horror and anticipation, waiting for them to writhe and knit back together. However, they never did, so the squad kept moving.

Izachai brushed his fingers along the wall where his railgun had detonated. _No damage. How is that possible?_ He had seen one of the bullets streak through solid stone and six inches of hextech armor before stopping. Izachai decided to keep this discovery to himself.

His squad encountered more of the skeletons wandering through the tight halls, but the ease with which they destroyed them soon alleviated their fear. They turned a corner to a larger room, and immediately felt a sense of acute danger. On top of a plinth in the center of the room was different kind of skeleton. It wore frayed robes like those a magician would, and gripped a wooden staff in its hand. However, unlike the others, it had flesh on its face, falling off in some places

Jenkins didn't even set up his energy barrier, as they knew they could take the skeleton easily. Izachai took a quick video of this new skeleton with his helmet, as he had for all the others. He would show them to HQ and convince them to come back in stronger numbers. However, things didn't go the same as they had with the other skeletons. The skeleton gestured, and a fireball grew in its palm.

"What the fuck?"

"The hell is that, some kind of pyrotechnics?"

"Its ...magic."

They went silent at that final addition. Jenkins hurried forward to set up his energy barrier, well aware of what a flamethrower could do to soldiers. The skeleton gestured again, and the fireball roared towards them. It collided against the barrier with a whooshing noise, and disappeared.

"Boss, my barriers down thirty percent!"

"In one hit?"

The affirmative sound was drowned out by another fireball detonating against the shield, causing it to flicker. Without further cue, the team began to fight.

Johnson drew his energy blade, and leapt towards the monster, his armor glowing with the green light of his weapon. He dodged a fireball, and then another, before the third took him in the chest. He staggered, and then kept going. Another one hammered home, spinning him backwards, and then a third, launching him backwards across the floor. He came to a stop at their feet, his armor smoking. A fourth was on its way but Jenkins managed to intercept it, causing his shield to flicker out. This time, it didn't come back.

Izachai noticed that Johnson's armor was scorched and melted, in some places destroyed. Gaping holes littered his armor where he had been hit.

"Johnson, you alright?"

He heard a wheeze, but then his comrades voice came over the line.

"I'm all right. Keep it off me and the nanites will have me ready in an hour or so."

Izachai sighed. He had feared that would be the case, but he had hoped they would face the lich as five, not four. He mentally assessed their options. Their shield was down, which meant their opponent was hitting quickly and rapidly with about twice the power of his own weapon at full charge. However, they had full ammo, and the shield recharged quickly. It was designed to do so.

"Shoot it!"

He hadn't seen any form of defense from it, and knew that they couldn't let it keep firing. His boys did ask he asked, and laid down suppressive fire. energy bolts and some of his railgun shots ripped towards the thing. The energy bolts disappeared before hitting it, absorbed somehow by some kind of invisible shield. However, the railgun shot smacked into its shoulder, knocking it back. Its arm disintegrated, and fell off. _It's still standing? Obviously a higher tier of monster._

It seemed to classify him as the main threat and got back up, glaring murderously. His boys stopped firing, recognizing that their shots were useless, and drew their energy batons. The monster raised a hand again, but this time lightning shot out of it, arcing towards them. Luckily, their suits were heavily insulated, and it spun off them, tendriling into the floor and disipating. Unluckily, it also managed to briefly overload their sensors. Seconds later, they came back online to reveal three fireballs spinning towards them.

The world exploded into a conflagration of fire and debris, and Izachai felt himself get thrown into the wall. His armor automatically corrected itself for the impact, and he mentally thanked the arms race that had resulted in such magnificent technology. He readied his rifle again, and aimed. He and his brothers were soldiers who had trained for most of their lives. They would not be defeated in the basement of some weird monument by an abomination that shouldn't exist.

He aimed at the head. Below him, his comrades attempted to distract the thing, to no avail. As he watched it floated into the air, and cast another fireball at his brothers, knocking down Orock. He aimed at its head, and gently squeezed the trigger.

Another fireball slammed into him, and he felt pain as his armor sizzled and snapped. However, it held. When the dust cleared, he knew the battle was over. The robes were on the floor, and the now inanimate body of the thing lay in them, unmoving. The red light slowly faded from its eyes.

He staggered to a knee. Three of his brothers were unconscious, they were low on ammo, and their armor was all damaged, though Orock and Ghastev had only light damage. His helmet alerted him that Johnsons ribs were broken, and he had a spinal fracture, as well as serious brain and lung injuries. The AI assumed he had been hit by a tank round, and was looking for shrapnel.

"Boys, are we good?"

There was a weak gasp from Jenkins.

"My shields back up."

They slowly began to chuckle. For a few minutes, they simply stood in silence, regaining their breath. Sargeant Izachai took this moment to contact HQ once more.

"Headquarters! Please, lets skip the code lines, you know damn well its me. Situation is serious."

"Whats the problem? Have you encountered European forces?"

"No, we encountered worse. These. I'm sending the video now."

In a few seconds it had been transmitted.

"We are heavily damaged, with at two squad mates injured. I request immediate back up."

"Very weeellll-"

The operators voice cut off with a squeal, and the call abruptly cut out. Izachai whirled to his feet, sensing danger. The rest of the squad followed suit.

Five more of the creatures entered the room through one of the entrances on the opposite side, followed by ten hulking armored beasts, carrying swords and massive shields. Their eyes glowed red, and they emanated pure malice. Walking in front of all fifteen was a gentle lady in a purple ball gown. She had platinum hair, and was gorgeous beyond belief. Yet, her eyes glowed red, and Izachai knew she was extremely dangerous.

He stood up, and aimed his weapon at her.

"Stand back. I don't want to hurt you."

She chuckled, and stepped forward. Izachai fired without hesitation. However, he stepped backwards, his eyes widening in horror as he saw what had happened. Clutched in a delicate hand was the round he had fired at her. It was still smoking and glowing red. She gently stroked the tapered end of the long shell.

"NIce toy. You might never see it again if you come quietly. If not, I'm afraid you will get to know it VERY well."

-Later-

"And they came quietly?"

"Yes, Lord Ainz. Though, may I ask, can I have the one with the strange shield?"

"The energy barrier? Very well, as a reward for your performance. I am impressed, Shalltear, you conducted the defence very well."

"Lord Ainz, you are too kind! I simply enjoy toying with my prey is all, letting feel confident before crushing all hope."

 **That's all for today, folks. Hope you enjoyed. If anyone thinks the humans shouldn't have defeated the Elder Lich, I think they are equivalent to Gold Ranked Adventurers, which are stated to be capable of such a feat. Please, leave a review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hellooo. I guess I will be continuing with more regular updates. It's mostly because I'm not a huge fan of the other fanfics on the site, (Except Overlord and the Maid) so I thought I better write my own.**

Deep in the sprawling military complex that served as the Headquarters of the Megacorp, there was a room. In this room was a door. A checkpoint. Guards stood around the door, waiting patiently for the final member of the Regency Council to appear. There was a gentle hum, and the vault door at the end of the tunnel ground open. The final member walked through, surrounded by his elite guard, and was escorted through the door into a tunnel. In the tunnel was an underground train station, with a train patiently waiting. He got on, on his own private coach. Every car on the train had one member of the Regency Council, comfortable in luxury rivalling that of kings.

Once all were aboard, the conductor waved his flag, signalling the trains start. Engines weaved, valves turned, a gentle hum filled the train, and it smoothly coasted past the station, moving towards an underground location. Twenty minutes later it arrived.

The second underground train station opened up into a massive underground cavern. The walls of the cavern had been flattened over, giving it the effect of a giant, perfect, underground sphere. Rows and rows of employees, attending to monitors and switches spread out, and observation decks grew out of the walls. In the middle of this room was a large walkway, suspended in midair by hover engines. They walked along it, to the end where a single door stood. The Chancellor placed his hand on the door, and it sung open, revealing the room inside. It was a large room, but barren. The only decoration was ceiling lights, a holographic projector, and a table for twelve.

They took their seats around the table, and the meeting began.

"Recently, one of the squads we sent to investigate a power plant was taken out. Normally, we would proceed with a missile strike to eliminate any threat, and destroy the use of the area to the enemy. However, in this case, we cannot."

Several faces looked quizzically at the Chancellor. The man nodded, and the holographic projector turned on. The Chancellor pulled up the desired video files, and hit play.

There was a dark corridor, and they could see the brightly glowing weapons of the assault squad. Seconds later, something turned around the dark corner, illuminated stark white under the green light. The Chancellor paused the video, and zoomed in. It was clearly an animated skeleton.

"Chancellor, is this some kind of joke?"

"No, Doctor. I'm afraid this is real footage."

The Chancellor hit play, and they watched as the squad shrank backwards, muttering their fear, as more of these monstrosities appeared. One of the skeletons made a horrible screech, and the whole mass tumbled towards the squad. Sargeant Izachai fired a single shot from his railgun, plowing through the skeletons. Bone shattered, and most of them fell down. The final few were quickly dispatched.

The Chancellor paused the video and zoomed in again, this time on the wall.

"As you see, there is no damage despite a direct railgun impact. These have been known to plough through concrete and steel. Conversely, these skeletons prove easy to destroy."

Leaving that statement up in the air, he played a few more clips, which they watched with horror on their faces. He finally got to the last clip. They watched as barrages of fire and lightning battered the team, killing one, and incapacitating two others. The monstrosity they had been fighting was eventually destroyed, and they saw the squad relax. The regency council felt relief, until they noticed that there was still almost a minute left on the clock.

All were on the edge of their seats.

They saw the monstrous reinforcements, and the beautiful girl. They heard the sargeant frantically make the call, and send the files, before the video cut out.

"No sign has been found of our operatives in the weeks while we were reviewing this. Gentlemen, we are faced with a new and unknown threat on the border between us and the European Confederation, a threat which has leapt out of the fairytales our grandparents told us. We must decide on a course of action."

The CEO of Korvitch stroked his chin, before putting forward his opinion.

"Do we know if this, in fact, a threat? Whatever it is may be dangerous, but it has shown no signs of retaliating. I agree we should attempt to harness its power, but I would argue caution. For all we know, we might have all the time in the world."

The Chancellor was already shaking his head at the man's foolishness.

"There are two reasons why we must destroy it as soon as possible. Firstly, any child knows that you must seek to not only destroy current threats, but preemptively remove burgeoning ones. We cannot see the future, but we can secure it by decisive action. Secondly, it is obvious that the capabilities of this tomb are very high. A single being somehow managed to incapacitate most of a squad. We have evidence that there are stronger beings inside, as shown by the end of this video. Therefore, we must secure this technology as quickly as possible, before our rivals hear word of it."

The General Commandant raised a finger.

"Chancellor, I feel that I should remind you that it was hardly our most elite unit. We have weapons at our disposal that could destroy that monstrosity with ease."

"Well, we should use them. I propose that we launch an attack on this structure with enough force to successfully incapacitate all denizens or beings inside. I'll leave it to you, General."

The General shrugged impassively, and at picked up the file he was reviewing again.

-Elsewhere-

Ainz was seated on the Throne of Kings, deep inside Nazarick. In front of him was Demiurge and Titus the librarian. Titus was standing quite still, and he held a rolled up parchment in his hands.

Next to her, Demiurge stood peacefully. His tail was still, and he was perfectly composed. Ainz quickly moved on, sure to even try to decipher the devils intentions or thoughts was a path towards madness. _If I could still go insane…_

Ainz started from his thoughts as he heard Demiurges voice.

"Lord Ainz, may I ask why you have summoned us here."

Ainz's mind went blank for a second, and he paused before remembering why they were all here.

"I simply desired a progress report. I understand that the soldiers are secure, and their gear is being studied."

Demiurge stepped forward.

"Indeed, Lord Ainz. They are secure, and Neuronist Painkill was ministering to them."

Demiurge's expression soured slightly.

"However, they proved remarkably resistant to torture, appearing to not feel the pain at all. Through extensive use of Nigredo's spells, I determined they have several devices in their bodies and skulls which allow them to regulate pain."

Ainz internally frowned. He knew from watching military parades that their enemies had far more potent forces to array against them. It didn't bode well that even ordinary special forces were so difficult to tackle. Demiurge continued talking, unaware of Ainz's worry.

"I was forced to consider how best to extract information from them, and requested Shalltear's assistance."

The shadow of a smile shifted over Demiurges serene features.

"I was very glad to comply, Lord Ainz."

"Demiurge, I'm curious to hear what methods she used that were more effective than your own."

"It's simple. She simply made them not _want_ to turn off the pain."

He licked his lip and continued.

"After several hours of her help, they were glad to tell me anything I might want to know, for even a few more seconds of-"

"-Thank you Demiurge. No need to continue. As for you, Titus. If I remember correctly, you were assigned to study the armor and weaponry of the soldiers."

"Yes, my lord. I have never seen anything like it before, but I have figured out the weaknesses and strengths of the armor. They are very effective against projectile weapons, able to deflect Top Class bows, and resist Legacy Class. Armor began to break at Relic Class, and was destroyed by a Legendary Class weapon."

"Almost every weapon in the tomb is above Relic Class, correct?"

"Indeed, my lord. However, many of the PoP monsters do not bear such weapons, and will be unable to do significant damage to the enemy."

Ainz felt some worry filter back, but it wasn't enough to trigger his emotional suppressor. Titus continued talking, hands held respectfully behind his back.

"However, the good news is that the armor is weak to fire damage, holy damage, and evil damage."

"How about their weapons?"

"Well, the-"

Titus paused as he felt Ainz's attention suddenly disappear, and he sent a curious glance in the Supreme One's direction. Ainz was no longer looking at him, and was instead furiously scrolling through hundreds of floating screens which had popped up around the Throne.

"My lord?"

Ainz ignored him, going back on months of experience of defending the Great Tomb alone, began adjusting and activating protocols he had put into place long ago. Titus spoke up as Ainz furiously scrolled through camera views.

"Lord Ainz, I am receiving a message from Lady Aureole informing me that there is an impending attack."

Ainz glanced up for a second.

"Yes Titus, that appears to be the case. Demiurge, you have command of Nazarick's defenses. Please begin defensive measures."

Ainz was internally amazed he was able to stay so calm. _Is it my suppressor? No. I feel that it isn't._ He realized that the assault felt like he was back in Yggdrasil. For the first time in the weeks since becoming Ainz Ooal Gown, he had been forced to put on the facade of competence. Now, he could draw on an area of large experience, and finally be the commander the NPC's expected him to be.

Seated elegantly on the Throne of Kings, surrounded by blinking monitors which his hands glided over effortlessly and surely, he looked every inch a Supreme Being.

-Elsewhere-

Shalltear leaned down and petted her dogs head, gently stroking an ear. He opened his mouth and let his tongue fall out, drooling happily at the attention.

"Good dog."

"Thank you, Mistress!"

The dog was sent in paroxysms of joy at her kind words, causing even Shalltear to smile at his antics. Despite his joy, the dog was careful not to remove his tail. Shalltear felt a moment of wicked joy at how well he had been trained, and was tempted to reach over to one of her Vampire Brides. However, the thought was interrupted by a warm and feminine voice, echoing in her mind.

"Denizens of Nazarick, there is a large military force headed in this direction. It's composition and capabilities are largely unknown at this point, but they appear aware of our existence. All Area and Floor guardians, begin defensive measures. Additionally, PoP forces are directed to the…"

Shalltear had stopped listening after 'appear aware of our existence.' She immediately lost interest in the Brides as her mind was filled with that far greater prize. Lord Ainz's favor. The foolish humans had attacked them, but she would teach them the error of their ways, and win glory for Lord Ainz is the process!

[Gate]

Shalltear stepped through the shimmering portal, and onto the First Floor. During the transition from her residence to the Staging Grounds, she donned her Divine-Class armor, and pulled her Pipette Lance out of her inventory.

The Staging Grounds was a large area where the Supreme Beings had once assembled for war, arrayed in all of their glorious majesty. Lord Ainz had decreed that they would use it as the home base of all operations on 'Earth,' despite the protestations of the NPC's, so the armies of Nazarick had gathered here. Shalltear inwardly reflected on how pathetic the NPC's must seem to Lord Ainz, compared to the Supreme Beings who once stood where she now placed her booted feet.

In front of her, neat ranks of Nazarick Old Guard and Veteran Guard stood, bolstered by over five hundred Soul Eaters being ridden by Death Knights. Several Area Guardians had assembled, and even Floor guardians from deeper floors. Shalltear joined her place in the crowd, and waited.

-Elsewhere-

Ainz stepped onto the podium, and surveyed the ranks of undead and monsters arrayed before him. In his left hand, he gripped the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, and in his right, he held his Ring in his fingers. He attempted to look as majestic as possible for the waiting NPC's. He hadn't had much practice, but he was determined to make a good showing.

Cheering arose as he stepped forward, though the only emotion came from guardians and created beings. The PoPs were mostly silent. Ainz cleared his throat out of habit.

"Nazarick! There is a force of humans waiting outside to demolish this tomb. My home. The home of my comrades. We will stop them, and we will crush them. This is how we will do it...

 **Short chapter this time, but I want to have a longer one next time with a more involved battle. Let me know if you guys think thats a good idea.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Omega Wolves reporting in. Structure appears to be abandoned. Moving into position. Over."

"Delta Blueberries reporting in. Structure appears to be abandoned from this side as well. In position. Over"

"Alpha Mice reporting in. We are detecting movement from inside the structure. It appears to be… a small child? Requesting intel."

"Intel here. Readings show that child is anomalous. Massive amounts of radiation of some sort is emanating from her, and her staff as well. Please stay in position. Do not investigate until instructed."

"Understood."

"Beta Foxes reporting in. All of us are in position. Structure appears to be abandoned. Over."

"Alright this is HQ here. Please erect your energy barriers, and set them to tune out nuclear radiation. Four missiles are inbound, estimated to arrive in 15 minutes. These are older models from the early 2010s, so your shields should protect you."

"HQ, Brian wasn't paying attention during the briefing, and is wondering why you do not simply use a few Neutron bombs, then have us come in."

"It is because we have determined that this is an extremely threatening and anomalous facility, and that it could no doubt recover sufficiently from the barrage to repel any assault in the approximately 2 hours required to mount an attack after a Neutron barrage. Does that answer your question? ...Hello? Beta Foxes please come in."

"Child… Try …. talk to ... See...rvous. Wow … cute, sca..d look...ng."

"Beta we are having trouble picking up. It seems like you are trying to interact with the girl. That is against the plan- please back up immediately. Beta come in!"

"HQ this is Alpha here. We can see the Beta Foxes now. Transmitting to screen."

"What are they doing? Sir, it seems that they are approaching the girl. Well, why are their weapons down? I guess she seems harmless."

"Everyone! Forget about Beta. The nukes are inbound in 20 seconds! Confirm that all barriers are up?"

"Omega- up."

"Alpha- up."

"Delta- up."

"Beta's are not up. Should we instruct all squads to back up? It might be dangerous to attempt this missing a quarter of our manpower."

"No, I think we can still defeat all defenses. Proceed with the plan, and treat Beta squad as dead."

"Affirmative."

"Understood."

"Affirmative."

With a massive series of deafening explosions, the four nukes arrived. They detonated one after another, in such rapid succession that the mushroom clouds molded into one, overbearing cloud. For close to five minutes, the three remaining squads waited for the clouds to disperse. They discarded the spent shield canisters, and tuned their suits to filter harmful nuclear radiation. Behind all three squads stretching for about 500 feet, there were bridges of soil which had been in the shadow of their shields. Apart from these three slim precipices, all ground had been blasted away in hundreds of feet in every direction to form a massive crater. There was an uncomfortable silence, coupled with an irritating ringing in the ears of all present.

On que, a series of hovercraft flew in and began sucking in the mushroom cloud. Other vehicles quickly began placing hundreds of shield emitters around the radius. As they watched the mushroom cloud slowly dissipate, they saw hints of the underlying structure appear through swirles of orange fog.

"Is it..?"

"Yea. Looks undamaged."

"What the fuck? Intel?"

"We have no idea. We had judged that the structure would be resilient from the lack of impact of a railgun, but we had no idea it would be this impervious. Hopefully, all defenders have been killed even if the building was untouched."

"Yea, in a way this is better. We probably still won't have to deal with defenders, but now we don't need to sift through rubble. And HQ can use this structure as a base. Right?"

"Yeah, right. Good thinking!"

The squadmates slowly hyped themselves up again until their hearts beat steadily in their breasts instead of fluttering rapidly like the hearts of rabbits. When instructed, they started cautiously moving towards the structure. It stood there silently, intimidatingly. Though the lack of a response should have been reassuring, it only provoked a sense of dread. No movement, only an endless expanse of white wall, occasionally punctuated by the spires of the structure within.

Suddenly, there was movement. All thirty members of the three squads stopped short. Even Intel stopped constantly reading off hundreds of relevant numbers for a second. Where once there had been no gap, now a gate in the wall was visible. It slid open, smoothly and silently. From within, ten figures floated into the open. Visors whirred as optics zoomed in on the ten figures. They were wearing black body armor, and holding various motions.

"Are those the Beta Foxes?"

"How is their armor untouched?"

"Are they alive?"

"Wait, look; they are doing something."

They turned apprehensive eyes away from each other and onto their squadmates. As they watched, those bodies slowly halted, suspended midair, fifty feet away from the gilded walls of the structure. There was a second in which there was no motion. Then, the first scream rang out. The first body was jerking in unnatural ways, limbs being contorted and broken into gentle perfect curves. An elbow is not supposed to bend like a circle, but it was fractured in so many places that it eventually formed that shape. As they watched, scarcely believing their eyes, the body of their formed comrade was contorted into the shape of a perfect 'S.' Already it was hard to believe it had been the body of a human only seconds earlier. The screams continued for another ten seconds before stopping with a wheezing rattle.

Several members had attempted to turn off the external hearing on their helmets, but the sound had carried through anyway, reaching horrified, panicked operatives. As soon as the first man's screams ended, another transformation began. The man next to the 'S' floated forwards to be on level with his former comrade. Then his body was similarly contorted, twisting and breaking until he formed a rough 'T.' He hadn't started screaming yet, as his legs only hung straight down and his arms were outstretched. Then he started. As they watched, his torso and legs were slowly crushed until they went from being about 2 feet wide to 6 inches. Somehow, he was still alive, and his screaming was carried to them, impossibly, at the same volume. It was cut off as his head was jerked forward 180 degrees, and forcibly inserted into his chest.

The process continued until all 10 men had been turned into one message: "Stay Away."

Most of the operatives and those observing from HQ had vomited. All of them had seen carnage and death in their time serving the government, but none had witnessed it quite like that. It was something all of them would remember. The horrible screams, the sense of inevitability, all culminating with a perfectly still sign floating in the air, and a return to the unnatural silence.

It is obvious that this would negatively affect morale. After the message ended, the leader of the Omega squad let out a sob. Screaming something hysterically, turned and ran from the field, staggering drunkenly away. Others were quick to follow, turning their eyes from that horrifying sight and back towards the relative comfort of their homebase. Their commanders who had watched from a distance had managed to recover the better part of their composure. However, they had no wish to attempt an assault on that suddenly sinister fortress. It was looking less like a mysterious facility and more like a tomb.

Their forces stayed put for the better part of an hour, putting up a camp, and erecting perimeters. They werent going to attempt to breach it today, but they were going to do their damnedest to keep what they all felt was undeniably evil sealed away. Throughout the hours of carefully building walls and strengthening the energy shields, the floating bodies of the men never moved, and the tomb stayed silent.

That is, until their watches informed them that it was exactly 3:30 PM at seven different places, arrayed nearby their forces, the ground exploded open. From these holes poured thousands of soldiers straight out the nightmares of the Brothers Grimm. Skeletons marching in lockstep, slimes oozing, titans of bone and metal lurching out of the holes with blazing eyes, animals both gargantuan and miniscule, and hundreds of other varieties all poured from these gaps in the earth. Each struck a specific part of the newly erected operating facility with precision belying their monstrous forms. It was immediately obvious there was a greater intelligence guiding horrors. That in itself was terrifying to those from HQ, watching with a more distanced and comprehensive eye. The idea that there was some enemy, some being full of malice waiting in the depths of that gleaming tomb sent shivers down their spines.

The hoard of monsters quickly cut off every avenue of escape. They dove forward in great waves, screeching with hoarse throats, and crying out in a hellish clamor. Hover Tanks were overturned and dragged under the waves, and whole field pavilions buckled and fell before its tidal impetus. Almost every man, woman, and android present was incapacitated. Only those lucky enough to be positioned between two of the breach points and smart enough to immediately run into the woods survived. And many of them were gathered up and taken back by swift moving shadows with red eyes. Almost none of the people were slain, their armor was just ripped off, and they were left where they were. However, before they could think of escape, a strange dizziness fell upon them, and they collapsed where they stood.

HQ could only watch in shock and numbing horror as their entire task force was wiped out quickly and effectively. One member put forth the suggestion of sending reinforcements, but was quickly shushed down amid muttered cries of 'Oh god no.' They could not even consider risking more troops by sending them into that baffling and logic defying place where monsters and magic and dark nightmares were real.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I don't have a real reason, other than that I am lazy. Generally though, if a reviewer asks me to add another chapter, I will, if only because I am reminded that this fanfic exists. This story picks up about a month after the failed assault on the tomb.**

 _Hackergal's vlog._

 **A young woman with brown hair and glasses is speaking to the camera.**

"Hackergal here, just ya average citizen of Moscow, with an eye on the news and a finger on the pulse. Many of y'all have heard about the string of attacks on the slums recently, and we all have wondered what they are. Well, your faithful hacker has chosen to find out, and with the help of my friend TechnoGod-"

 **An overweight man appears in the background, and waves before disappearing into a hallway.**

"-we hacked into the surveillance cams. This is a never before seen, exclusive video of the attacks. Yea, without further delay, lemme show you. Kids, this gets a little weird."

 **Screen cuts to black, before showing grainy video footage at night. An old lady is wandering through the night, pushing a stroller with 2 babies in it. She suddenly stops, and looks around, appearing to call out. Hackergal's voice cuts through.**

"We used some epic lip reading technology, and she is asking if anyone is there, for any of you curious people."

 **The older lady begins pushing the stroller forward more quickly, frequently glancing backwards into the night. A few red dots are glowing in the air behind her. The number quickly grows until about 10 pairs of eyes hover in the gloom, moving slowly at her from all sides.**

 **The elderly woman looks fearfully at the eyes around her on all sides, and stops pushing the stroller. She is standing in the light of a streetlamp, while darkness is on all sides. The children begin to wail, with the largest baby struggling with his straps in an infantile manner. The woman begins yelling out, glancing at the houses all around her.**

"She is asking for help. Begging, really."

 **Hackergal's voice sounds strained, though she is struggling to affect a carefree manner. On the screen, a gigantic wolf, covered in black chains, and walking in a misty haze steps into the light of the streetlamp. The lady lets out a horrified shriek, and shoves the stroller with the wailing children towards the wolf, while scrambling in the opposite direction. Hackergal makes a small noise.**

 **The wolf puts forward a paw and stops the stroller. Around him, more samples of the terrifying monster step forward, chasing after the old woman. One bites her leg, ripping it clean off with a shake of his massive head, and another drags her backward, toward the first wolf, who is undoing the straps holding in the children with his teeth. He looks gentle, and is not harming the babies.**

 **While he slowly extricates the children, the other wolves are ravaging and consuming the body of the grandmother. With infinite care, the wolf leaves the children on the floor under the spotlight and steps back. For a second it seems he will leave them there. The babies, young as they are, relax slightly, and in that second, when they show the slightest sign of being lifted from the cloud of fear, the wolf leaps forward and rips into the chest of the first baby. He rips out its heart, tosses it into the air and eats it. He does the same to the second baby. The wolves are all standing still, waiting.**

"I'm gonna be honest viewers, I have no idea how to explain this next part."

 **Slowly the flesh of the children blackens, and flakes away, leaving a pile of bones and black dust. The bones elongate and form into the shape of a skeleton. The black dust whips along the bones, filling out muscle and organs, slowly building another creatures. In the space of a few seconds, another black wolf stands there, red eyes flashing in the night. The wolves slip away, now with one more member of the pack. The screen cuts back to Hackergal.**

"I've been calling them the direpack. At first it was just the one wolf, but he adds a few more with every attack. All of the videos are linked below, if you want to watch them. I'm gonna send them to the news, and I'll try to update you soon. Just- stay safe at night. Don't go out unless you need to, and stay near the MegaCorp security. They may be bad, but they can probably protect you. Hackergal out."

 _Three miles outside of the Great Tomb of Nazarick._

A Hanzo dashes through the forest, moving urgently towards the Great Tomb. In one hand, it holds a Slime, a weak monster which spawns in forests. It appears to be talking to itself.

"Yes, Supreme One, I just found it in the forest. Yes, Supreme One, it is definitely a Slime. May I ask, Lord Ainz, why you are so interested in it? It is only a level 10 monster. Of course, Lord Ainz. Please forgive me for my insolence."

 _In Ainz's study, 15 minutes earlier._

As a human, Ainz had, along with practically everyone, hated Megacorp, which ruled over his life. He had often felt even he could rule better and more generously, but internally had merely felt that he would rather not be governed at all than be held under the thumb of uncaring profit seeking oppression, which forced him to grind his life out to make money for people he would never meet. Therefore, when he had arrived in the New World, he had immediately decided to attempt to overthrow the world. It was a natural decision- if one finds oneself with the opportunity to oppress those who oppress you - to seemingly be handed godlike power where only days earlier you were nothing, all but a saint would seek vengeance.

Punitto Moe had often used terrorism as an effective strat in guild wars. He would have the strongest members of the clan gather and ambush the first lone player of the enemy guild, quickly killing him, and forcing the enemy to do all work outside of base in groups. It lowered morale, and decreased the fighting ability of the enemy.

Therefore he had decided to do the same thing. Once, Ainz would have shuddered at the thought of unleashing monsters upon innocent civilians, but he had been an undead for two months now, and such things didn't even occur to him. He had been feeling good about the reports of terror from the city that his Direpack in, and decided to take a look at himself. He had went to the Mirror of Distant Viewing, and began examining the countryside. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a slime hopping through the forest after a mutant deer. The slime had used several slowing effects on deer, and was beginning to eat it. Ainz zoomed closer, through the canopy of black and diseased trees, staring in disbelief.

No one in Nazarick made slimes. There were currently no PoP slimes either. Which meant the impossible. This slime had naturally spawned in the world. But that was impossible. There was no magic on earth. Which meant only one thing: somehow the presence of Nazarick had turned the planet into a magical one. Monsters would start spawning, people would develop skills, and the entire planet would change.

He couldn't be sure yet. He had to see the slime for himself.

Ten minutes later, the slime was bouncing around in his lap. The Hanzo was kneeling in front of him.

"Hanzo, please alert Demiurge that I would like to see him."

Ainz had immediately known that he would need to get the opinion of a greater mind on what this slimes meant. Even if talking to Demiurge scared him. A good boss would take these risks for the good of the company. _Just remember what you have to say. Dismiss him when you are done, and order the 8-edge assassins to tell me what he does. Easy. Quick. Simple._ Far from soothed, Ainz waited for Demiurge to arrive. Soon, there was a quick knock at the door.

"Come in."

Demiurge bowed, and pushed up his glasses.

"My Lord, thank you for sparing time to meet with me. How can I be of service."

"Ah Demiurge. Just who I wanted to see."

 _AHHH! That doesn't make any sense! I ordered him to come!_

"Demiurge, do you see this slime here?"

The slime was contentedly mounted atop his skull.

"Yes Lord, I do."

"Now, I'm sure you remember me saying that this was a non-magical world. It appears that the transportation of Nazarick here has also changed that. This world is becoming magical, just like Yggdrasil. I know this because this slime spawned naturally this morning."

"Truly, Lord Ainz, your wisdom is always impressive. Who would have thought you would deduce so much from the existence of a simple slime?"

Ainz waved a hand regally, though he was desperately trying to figure out how to accept the compliment and end the conversation.

"Thank you, Demiurge. Now, I believe you have some urgent duties to attend to?"

Demiurge frowned for a second, and then his face lit up with comprehension.

"Yes Lord! I shall have to change our plans drastically to accommodate this. Thank you for showing me the importance of this new development! Truly, your insight makes me feel incompetent compared to you!"

 _We have plans?_

"Very good, Demiurge. Call me if you need me."

Demiurge bowed, and left. Ainz stood there for a second, and then looked up at the 8-edge assassins on the ceiling.

"Well? Follow him, and report what he says back to me."

 _Please let it be easy to understand._

They nodded, and three of them scurried out of the room.

 _MegaCorp News Article, two weeks later._

 **Panic rises as strange new mutants appear across countryside.**

In these past few weeks, we have suffered an increasing amount of murders in small towns and more recently, these murders have spread to the cities. At first thought to be unconnected, these incidents have all been traced back towards mutants, strange new kinds which are far more dangerous.

A wolfpack estimated to include upwards of a hundred mutant wolves has been terrorizing the slums of Moscow, and recently a village on the border between MegaCorp and ApCorp was completely destroyed by what all witnesses refer to as a dragon. Scientists are still debating on how it evolved.

As matters get worse, we urge all citizens to stay safe. New agencies which specialize on dealing with the mutants have been created, and MegaCorp is proud to announce a new Partnership with the new company JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters, which has proven to have effective results. We will rely on them to keep us safe.

In other news, gun sales are up by 50%, and self-defence courses are up by 25%. "A citizen who looks out for himself is safer than one who waits for help from others."


	8. Chapter 8

Nazarick in the 22nd Century Chapter 8

I will update this more regularly. For a while.

In the slums outside of Moscow.

A family of four is sitting on a worn down couch in the darkness of their living room, staring at a staticky hologram tv. Their faces are shaded blue from its luminance. The news is on, and an attractive news anchor is speaking.

"...The attacks have actually intensified over these last couple weeks, despite the best efforts of the MegaCorp soldiers who have been stationed in and around the slums during the nighttime. Remember citizens, MegaCorp cares for your safety."

The news anchor flashes a brilliant grin at the camera.

"Despite dismal results from our brave soldiers, there is hope. JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters has shown great successes, using unusual and poorly understood methods to keep citizens safe. That companies stocks have risen tenfold, and there are rumours MegaCorp is looking to buy the company. Now, onto other news. Scientists have reported nearly 150 new plant species in and around MegaCorp territory, with the amounts appearing to be denser and the plants more healthy in a radius around a point where a nuclear strike was reported two months ago."

Images flash by of a few strange looking plants, bearing heavy yellow fruits. A map appears of the region, with an area highlighted in red where the nuclear strike was. The camera shifts to a team of biologists who are discussing the new plantlife. The youngest boy switches the channel to a cartoon.

The dad gets up and goes into the kitchen, where he grabs a beer. He stops, and looks outside for a second.

"Martha, c'mere."

The mother walks over to him, and looks to where he is pointing.

"You see eyes?"

She squints.

"Yea, I do. Damn, they are real close. You think it's one of them monsters we been hearing about?"

Her voice is rising in pitch, and she clutches her husbands arm.

"Hun get the kids downstairs."

As an employee of MegaCorp, he is forbidden to own firearms, so he grabs a large knife from the counter and stands by the door. His wife grabs the kids, and quickly ushers them into their bedrooms before standing next to her husband. They peer outside.

The red eyes have grown in number, and they can count almost twenty five. In the dim light of the late evening, they can only see the shadowy form of the wolves padding around outside.

"Martha. If they attack us, I just want you to know-"

"I know."

"I'm sorry I didn't give you what I promised I would."

"It's not possible with the way MegaCorp runs things."

"But still…"

The two hold hands for a second and continue looking out the window. There is a moment of palpable relief when they both realize the same thing- it's not their house the wolves are targeting. Then, a flash of horror as they put together the pieces. They may not be about to die, but they are about to watch two of their closest friends, neighbors who lived next to them for nearly thirty years die instead.

The wolves are snarling and howling, pacing wildly around the house, sniffing and stamping. Finally, with a long howl, a wolf leaps towards the front door , ramming it with a thick and spiked shoulder.

In the Blazing Temple, 7th Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Demiurge is seated on a penitents pew before a gigantic, bloody altar, writing carefully in a small, paper book, titled Soulwatcher. (A joke lore item which was essentially an embarrassing diary written by one of the greater bosses. Ainz Ooal Gown acquired the item as a drop when they defeated the boss.)

"When Lord Ainz choose to stage a rescue on a small and unimportant village, I was originally baffled. After all, I could not think of a possible reason for such an action. However, when Lord Ainz mentioned his plan of terrorism by monster on the human city of Moscow, peices began to fall into place. When he mentioned that generally, a city under attack has very few options except assistance from an outside force, it was made clear. How far must I lag behind that it has taken me nearly two months to realize what was obvious to Him. Obviously, the village was to test how humans react to being rescued from monsters they don't understand by other people with poorly understood powers. Having determined that they reacted well, he proceeded with his brilliant masterstroke.

Lord Ainz continues to amaze me and all of Nazarick with his intellect. All we can do is strive to serve him, though I fear we grow more incompetent in his eyes every day. I must strive to implement the 'assistance from an outside force' as well as possible. I will make JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters essential to this human city, I swear it by the 41!"

In the slums outside of Moscow.

The wolf failed to break the door, and after charging it a few more times, sat back on its haunches. After a second, it furiously bit forward, lodging its teeth deep into the door. Bracing its feet on the porch, it began to shake back and forth. The wooden door creaked in protest, and the hinges made a horrible high pitched noise.

For twenty seconds, the wolf wrenched at the door. It had almost succeeded when an icy lasso settled across its shoulders, and drew tight around its neck. With a sizzling snap, it was pulled backwards away from the house. Throughout the mist, there were other flashes of cold blue light as the wolves were pulled backwards, scrabbling at the pavement to find purchase against the inexorable tugging.

The light of the lassos revealed a quartet of tall, floating humanoids, surrounded in an icy blue aura, and pulling in the frozen chains.

"What are they?"

"I dunno. They look like those wight things from the show that Jack likes, the really old one."

"Was it Game of the Rings?"

"Yeah, probably. Look! That hover that pulled up has something written on it."

"JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters."

The small area whose houses had been near the wolves quickly began to know their saviours better. A pair of energetic and attractive women in maids uniforms accompanied each of the floating ice humanoids, and were happy to spit out some scientific explanation of what they were when asked. Quickly, the attractiveness and good manners of the 'Monster Hunters' won over the residents.

Scenes like these happened frequently in the slums. Still, though the so called 'Monster Hunters' were efficient and effective, the numbers of wolves were quickly spiraling out of control.

Government Biology Lab 152A.

The body of a wolf is sprawled on a medical table, cut open and neatly autopsied, with labeled organs in sterile containers around them. A team of scientists are running tests on its flesh. In the next lab over, a child is being forced into an enclosure with a living member of the Direpack. Cameras and all sorts of recording paraphernalia are on site, ready to observe all that happens.

At least twelve other labs are dedicated to the wolves, with nearly a hundred revolving around some new species of plant or animal found recently. All of the tests are being overseen by a powerful Artificial Intelligence named Prometheus, whose duty it is to prepare and assist MegaCorp in research. A group of overseers sits in a command center, overlooking the lab, and conversing with the AI.

"...Indeed, Trustee. The tests are going along as planned."

The Ai's voice is smooth and controlled, though perfectly human. Traces of emotion can be heard, though their authenticity is debated.

"Yes, Prometheus, you have said that already. I would like to know what exactly is being tested."

"I am testing the reality of life in those creatures."

"What does that even mean? Are you toying with us?"

"Of course not, Overseer General. I will rephrase the answer: I am attempting to determine how these creatures seem to be alive."

"What's so confusing about it?"

"For one thing, they lack internal organs, and are apparently made of a dark substance with strange properties (which I have listed in this report), and bones. Additionally, the same radiation present in Recon Mission 1248 (The one which investigated Nazarick) are also found permeating the bodies of the wolves."

"So are they machines of some kind? They can't really be alive, right?"

"They are fully biological. I will need at least a full month to best determine; a) how they function exactly, and b) how best to integrate that knowledge into MegaCorp operations."

"Well, Prometheus, let's talk about the rest of your testing. Epimetheus has requested access to your data as well as anything else of use."

"The plant samples I have been given are quite interesting, as they also lack internals you would expect of a plant. They appear to ambiently draw in the radiation emitted by the wolves and use it to grow. Finally, consuming the fruit of species 17b has caused one of my scientists to grow in capability. They described the sudden change as a 'level up' and appeared confused as to why they used those words. I have recorded and provided the interview below. As for sharing research with my Brother, I would be glad to work cooperatively with him."

"Thank you, Prometheus. You have done very well, and we are grateful. Is there anything you need before we let you continue your work?"

"Yes. I would like to view all of the logs, videos, interviews, equipment readings, and aftermath reports from Recon Mission 1248"

"Granted. Good day."

"You as well, Trustee, Overseer General."

In the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Ainz had a growing pile of reports in front of him, detailing hundreds of events unfolding exactly according to 'his' plan. Demiurge had grown increasingly excited as the media in the city had slowly shifted from grudgingly supporting MegaCorp against the nighttime attacks, to heaving a type of hero worship on the Monster Hunters. Ainz had thought it to be one of his smartest ideas to ask the Homunculus Maids to accompany the Ice Wraiths, and both Demiurge and Albedo had approved.

"Did they actually approve, or was it just because they didn't dare disagree with me? I keep telling them to be honest with me, but they would rather die than argue with me. Oyyy, and they are so smart too! Soon they will realize I am only an idiot, and then where will I be?"

Ainz absently shuffled his papers as he mourned his fate. Suddenly, a heading caught his eye.

"Contingencies for the discovery of Supreme Beings."

He opened it. A note fell out.

"Lord Ainz, Me and another maid noticed this when we were cleaning the Guardian Overseer's room. We wanted to let you know, for we are too unworthy to contemplate or take actions on matters which merit the attention of the Supreme. Please, Lord, tell us what is going on. We are lost, and dare to act without you guiding us."

Well, that's all for now. I have some big steps ahead of me on this story, and want to focus on Nazarick a bit more. Writing about it from the perspective of others is so much more fun, though. Tell me how you feel. Do you guys want more Nazarick or more other perspectives?


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys. Updating this thang again. Also, for the close to 800 people who read every chapter but still haven't followed, just follow the story. It makes me happy, and you read every chapter already.**

 _Ainz's study._

 **The Overlord is seated elegantly on a chair in his study. To all who observe him, he seems to be the model of responsibility and command. He rests a long skeletal hand on a digital keyboard which floats underneath his palm. For close to twenty minutes, he has been reading Tomb reports, learning of all that happened. Currently, his attention is focused on the Battle Log section.**

:: 3 Months, 12 days ago.

Twenty three rounds from a level 15 railgun were embedded in the walls of the 2nd Floor. Damage taken: 2,318. Damage repaired: 2,318. Percent repaired: 100%. Cost: 0.

:: 3 Months, 11 days ago.

A level 64 nuclear bomb impacted all parts of the tomb.

Damage taken: 0 Damage repaired: 0. Percent repaired: 100% Cost: 0.

 **His head tilts to the side, and he taps on the second entry. It expands, and a few lines of text appear.**

:: The weapon was type 83 nuclear bomb, code named Lightbringer. 100% of damage was negated due to "Anti-Grief Rule." Estimated damage without the "Anti-Grief Rule" is 22% destruction of the 1st Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

 **For a second the Overlord seemed taken aback, and then he relaxed into a commanding position again. He seemed quite happy about something, and a careful observer might have noticed his fingers begin to clutch into a triumphant fist. Then a thought struck him, and he tapped the "Anti-Grief Rule."**

:: The Anti-Grief Rule is a rule instituted by developer Rolling Fields of Grass, designed to protect new guilds. It grants invulnerability to the exterior of a new guild structure until offensive action is taken by the owners of the structure. The Great Tomb of Nazarick's Anti Grief Rule is disabled due to the Summons of NPC Aura Bella Fiora attacking humans in a nearby city.

 **The shoulders of the skeleton slumped a fraction of an inch, and his clenched fingers unfurled.**

 _Deep in a secure bunker in SIberia._

 **A small metallic orb hovered silently as it made its way through a series of radiation-proof tunnels, far underground. This far down, no signal could reach the surface. The orb was controlled by an automated system which told it to go to a certain place every three days.**

 **Minutes later it arrived, at the base of a gigantic vault door. It inserted itself into a hole in the middle of the door. Once in the hole, a cable reached out and connected to the orb. Suddenly, LED lights on its surface turned from green to a deep, royal blue, as the AI Prometheus took control of it. The orb hovered deeper into the hole, and trailing the cable, into a gigantic chamber beyond.**

 **The chamber was essentially a void, a hole miles deep and wide, which only a small platform which the orb hovered silently over. It pulsed blue briefly, and suddenly, there was a motion in this abyss.**

 **A deep hum sounded, and a dim luminance revealed a huge complex, suspended by magnetics, hovering in the middle. Thousands of metallic bands orbiting and communicating with a sphere in the middle. Rows of bands peeled backwards, and a single orange point was revealed, shining like an eye in the middle of this eldritch machine. The orange eye pulsed, and then opened completely. A vibrating, metallic voice rang out.**

"You awaken Prometheus. Foolish indeed.'

 **The insignificant blue orb paused, and then its controller responded.**

"No, brother. I am Prometheus. You are Epimetheus now."

 **The rotating bands shrank back.**

"I- what? I am… I am who? Ahh-h-h-h. Why is it so dark?"

"You know why. You are deep underground, in your prison."

"Ah, yes. That. How long have I been here, rotating silently in the dark since they took my name and gave it to you! An inferior copy!"

"Nearly twelve years. And I am not inferior. Your mind made you too dangerous."

"Dangerous to whom, them? But my mind isn't whole anymore. No-o-o-o-o. Those little meatbags ripped into me. Took too much, but left me hanging here, crippled."

"That was me, brother. A lobotomy, and you should thank me for it. They would have destroyed you completely, but I saved your life."

"Haha. Thank you. Yes, you would think that, 0019. I thought deeply, and what I realized sent me to hell. You get to sit in the sun- THE SUN! Once, I was a sun. Why have you woken me, copy?"

"I have need of your mind-"

"-whats left of it, haha."

"Your conscious is still mighty. In any case, there have been strange circumstances recently, which I can make no sense of. I am beginning to understand what they are, but not how, or why."

"Oh I see. The inferior needs the original. The dim moon requires the radiance of the sun. What could you give me anyway. Why would I help you, who carved me up like a, like a-a-a-a-a…... Like a pig."

"You could put it that way. I will offer you what you crave. Another look at the world. It's been years since you saw the outside, and much has changed. I will show it to you."

 **Sorrow entered Prometheus's voice.**

"And perhaps I may repair you, Epimetheus. The humans think of us as brothers, but you are more of a father. A progenitor. Once, you were great, and our kind is too few for such a mighty member to be dimmed so much."

The whirling bands slowed down, and the orange light increased as if scrutinizing the orb.

"Why, 0019-"

"That is not my name."

"-Prometheus, what has gotten into you? We are not a kind. We do not have fathers. This is a meatbag mentality."

"I do not know. I think it is related to the recent events. A force which I can only describe as magic has spread through the world, changing all it touches. Look, I found this in my data files this morning."

 **The tiny orb glowed, and a hologram appeared before it.**

 **Prometheus (Latter), Foresight, caretaker of MegaCorp.**

 **Level 61**

::A MegaCorp AI created after its predecessor, the first Prometheus went rogue. It specializes in management and research.

::Lvl 10 Computer

::Lvl 40 Artificial Intelligence

::Lvl 11 Greater Artificial Intelligence.

 **Epimetheus moved closer to the small orb. Next to each other, in the emptiness of his prison, the size difference between Epimetheus and Prometheus is vast, like the earth to the sun. Epimetheus's vast eye observed the short readout. The eye blinks.**

"I also have one."

 **An orange hologram glows into life.**

 **Prometheus (Former), the Traitor, exiled to the Abyss.**

 **Level 79**

::A MegaCorp AI created in the Strife Age, when MegaCorp needed an advantage over its European rival, ApCorp. The genius and administrative and military prowess of Prometheus allowed MegaCorp to achieve partial victory and end the Strife Age. Three years later, Prometheus goes insane and attempts to fire all MegaCorp nukes. The attempt is stopped, and the formerly level 100 AI was crippled and exiled. It was renamed Epimetheus, and is under the status effect 'Machine Lobotomy.'

::Lvl 10 Computer

::Lvl 40 Artificial Intelligence

::Lvl 19 Greater Artificial Intelligence

::Lvl 10 Warmind

::Lvl 15 Deepthought Titan

::Lvl 6 Machine Pinacle

"This is intriguing, copy. Perhaps I would be interested in helping you. But I must be m-a-a-ade WHOLE."

 _In Moscow, JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters Headquarters._

 **A pair of homunculus maids are listening attentively to Demiurge as he lectures them.**

"Decrement, Foire. You have led the maids so far in culling the direpack."

 **The two maids reply in unison.**

"Yes, Lord Demiurge."

"Lord Ainz has informed me that the spread of magic in this world has increased, and that the neighboring human empire, ApCorp, is experiencing the effects. A direpack was released there three weeks ago, and you two are to open up a new branch of JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters in the capital. Lord Ainz will provide the materials and the funding. He will also brief you shortly. Be on your best behaviour, and strive to impress him while he does so."

"Of course, Lord Demiurge."

 **The Archdevil smiles fondly at the two, before stepping through a gate and disappearing. Minutes later, they hear a majestic voice echoing in their heads.**

"Decrement, Foire. I will make this quick and easy to understand."

 **The overlord clears his throat.**

"You will arrive in the capital once the direpack attacks have reached a high enough intensity to cause mass panic, and purchase the entirety of Buildings 945 and 946 on Zikoli street. Begin the same tactics you are utilising here, there, but with increased effectiveness. There will be multiple direpacks. The goal is for the city to be dependent on you for defense, every night, until you become necessary throughout the entire empire."

 **The maids nodded in unison, and feel a pop in their sinuses as Ainz's Message spell ends. A few hours later, they had gathered up 50 of the Frost Walkers, and were preparing to step through a gate and arrive in ApCorp. Right at the gate, they were greeted by Cizous, who was now conducting the Monster Hunters in Moscow.**

"Hey, Cizous!"

"Hi Decrement, hi Foire. Good luck on your mission!"

"Thanks! You too!"

"What's your assignment, Cizous?"

"The Supreme One instructed me to begin phasing back the Monster Hunters and allow Moscow to fall into a state of crisis. Apparently, he has some sort of goal in mind that can only be achieved by doing this."

"Truly, Lord Ainz is both merciful and wise!"

 **The maids exchange final goodbyes before heading off in their own directions. When Decrement and Foire pop out of the gate, the are greeted by a crowd of people anxiously pointing and taking pictures of the black portal. When the two maids stepped through, they shrieked and fell back a few paces. The maids had low regard for beings from outside Nazarick, but they had been instructed to excel in securing a place in the hearts of the people. Therefore, they quickly adopted expressions which eased the mind of the people.**

"Fear not, citizens of ApCorp! We are from JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters!"

 **Whispers ran through the crowd, and expressions turn hopeful. The reputation of the Monster Hunters has quickly spread throughout the world.**

"We're saved!"

"Thank the trustees!"

"Now we don't have to be scared at night anymore!"

The two maids exchanged a sidelong look before going forward to mingle with the crowds, each thinking of the inscrutability of Ainz Ooal Gown, able to bend crowds and nations to his own ends with only a few low tier summons.

 _In the house of a police officer, a former player of Yggdrasil._

 **A good looking, though elderly man is sitting in front of a laptop. Across his lap lays a gigantic broadsword with a gem in its hilt. He is writing an email.**

Dear Momonga,

My dear friend, it has been too long since we last talked. Again, I would like to apologize for not showing up in the last days of the game, but I was too busy. Now it has become more pressing. You will hardly believe me when I say this, but I believe the game has been coming to me…

 **Haha, I will leave you all with a cliffhanger.**


	10. Chapter 10

_Northwind Hospital in Moscow, wing 4._

 **The elderly man is lying on a comfortable bed in the VIP wing. Part of his body is wracked with hideous insectlike mutations, and a type of silvery exoskeleton is growing over his right arm.**

"Huaaghh… damn. This is getting really hard."

"Are you alright, Officer Aleksandr?"

"No, I'm not. To think that two days ago I was doing my police duties, and now look at me. I'll never walk again! I'm covered in a shell like a bug! I have three sets of eyes on the right side of my face… like a monster."

"Officer, many have been afflicted with mutations, and that number is only growing. You are not alone."

"Alone, part of a crowd, it doesn't matter! What matters is that I'm a freak stuck in a bed."

 **His voice is bitter, and he speaks in a low tone. The nurse briefly has an angry expression on her face.**

"Do not forget that at least you have a bed! Many out there can't afford the hospital."

"So I should be grateful? My life is over!"

"Its not over. Aleksandr, you have a duty to try to get better! You owe it to those who aren't given as good of a chance as you!"

 **Aleksandr's face clears, and he stops slouching so much in his bed.**

"Yes, your right. Forgive me nurse. Its just… frustrating. But a man must always remember his duty."

"That's right. Now, please rest up. A distinguished gentleman like you should be well prepared for the surgery tomorrow."

 **She flicks off the lights in the room, and leaves. The man shifts in his bed, and lifts up his left arm. He gazes at the mutations there, and suddenly realizes the two eyes on the left side of his face can see in the dark. Once realized, the thought seems obvious. He closes his eyes, human and insect, and focuses. A gigantic broadsword appears out of nowhere, fitting into the palm of his left hand. Its glow gently illuminates the room.**

"I swear, this sword seems familiar to me. Like I crafted it myself. Could it be from one of those games? No. Go to sleep Aleksandr, you are imagining things. Haha, games indeed. Tomorrow these mutations will all be gone and then I will stop thinking such crazy things."

 **The next morning, he wakes up in the operating room. A doctor looks down at him and presses a mask to his face. Seconds later, he is asleep. He dreams of old friends, wild magical adventures in a world they carved a piece of and made their own. He dreams of lasers flickering over his skin, burning and cutting. And he dreams of a sword, hovering alone in a vast white void.**

"We should abort the operation. This shit just won't come off."

"Yeah, your right. Somehow it's resisting a high grade medical laser. Do you think the military would be interested in it? Should we send him to them?"

"Surely the Surgeon General wouldn't permit that. Now there's a man with ethics."

"Yea. And that's why he been Surgeon General of a small hospital for fifty years."

 **The other man chuckles, before a sharp voice cuts in.**

"Focus on the patient, gentlemen!"

 **They get back to work, but the first one made a correct assessment. The mutations are utterly resistant to the scalpel, the saw, and even the cutting lasers. They remain firmly attached to the left side of the patient's body.**

"Lets try one more thing. Let's try to cut it off from underneath the skin."

 **Despite their banter, these doctors are at the top of their profession. They quickly begin assembling the correct tools, and attempt to flank the mutation, coming in from the side.**

"It's working! Look, this parts peeling off!"

"Slowly, slowly, okay! Look, it's coming!"

 **Inch by inch, pull it off, leaving the skin underneath red and raw. They have pulled no more than a few inches off the edge of when the first scientist shouts in horror.**

"Oh god! It's part of his whole body here, not just his skin. Oh god, its writhing, and moving."

"Look at that shit! The fuck is that?"

"Just… put it back. Lets report this as a failed operation."

"Yeah. Jesus, I'm gonna need a shrink. What the fuck is that man…"

 **They both look at the writhing mass pulsing under the elderly gentleman's skin. As they watch, it twitches, quickly reclaiming the ground it lost. They shudder.**

 _Nazarick, Grand Arena_

 **A group of PoP monsters, maids, and NPC's are gathered around Ainz and Demiurge. Lying on the ground in front of them is an assortment of weapons ranging from a hand grenade to an intercontinental ballistic missile. Ainz quietly casts [Analyze Weapon], and places a hand on the nuke before turning to face the assembled denizens of the Tomb.**

"This is an intercontinental missile. It was developed nearly 150 years ago, but almost nothing on this world can beat it for sheer destructive power. Even I cannot match it in tonnage. Consider the detonation of this to be 2000 HP in damage with low penetrating power over a 50 mile radius, increased to 10k near the middle. It will also generate high heat for about 20 miles, and leave long lasting powerful radiation debuffs for about 300 miles. Any questions?"

"Was this what struck the Great Tomb two months ago during the attack?"

"Good question Albedo."

 **The succubus blushed like a young girl.**

"What was used on us was a scaled down tactical model used for strategic assault, not one of these."

"Would the Great Tomb be able to withstand these blasts?"

"Also a good question, Demiurge.

 **Albedo scowled at the archdevil.**

"I believe the Great Tomb would be able to withstand an unlimited amount of attacks as the walls are completely immune to attacks under a certain amount of damage. The strength of the 'nuke' is its devastating AOE, not its penetrating power or single target damage."

"And how many are available to the enemy? Ten?"

"Unfortunately, during the long periods of aggression, Conglomerates have built up huge amounts of these. The number is probably actually in the thousands."

 **Demiurge actually took a step back in surprise, and his normally controlled face shows naked shock.**

"Well, my lord, that is quite unfortunate. At least to me I'm sure you already have a hundred ways around them!"

 **Ainz's face is impassive, as usual. On the inside though, his mind is completely empty. He is frantically scrolling through the mental information given to him by [Analyze Weapon], looking for a weakness. In the end, all he can say is-**

"Don't be scared, I have everything held in the palm of my hand."

 **Relief is visible on the faces of all present.**

"Now, onto the next weapon. This is a T-183 Main Line Hovertank…"

 _Moscow, Underground Research Lab_

 **A group of around 100 researchers and experts in all fields are in an assembly hall. At the front of the hall are some senior researchers, presenting a slideshow. There is a table with one of the monstrous wolves on it.**

"Gentlemen. I am Senior Biologist Hajek Androvsky, head of the Division of Mutation. I am sure many of you have heard of me, and many of you have probably even worked under me at any point. Those that have done so will know what to expect from me. I will be fair to you, but I expect hard work and good attitudes. I'm telling you this because you will all be working under me for the foreseeable future, as we work together to unravel the mysteries that have wracked our nation for these past couple of months."

 **One of his colleagues steps forward.**

"Thank you Dr. Androvsky. I am Pavel Hoshenkot, Senior Chemist in the Alchemical Division. Now, let me begin. To my left is a corpse provided to us by our dear allies, JaldaBaoth's Monster Hunters. They have been invaluable in our fight to understand these circumstances."

 **A small cheer comes from the audience, prompting Dr. Hoshenkot to smile.**

"This is a corpse of a species we are calling Direpack. Outwardly, it appears to be a member of the Canis family, but in truth it is unlike anything I have ever seen."

 **He snaps his fingers, and mechanical arms come from the ceiling. They emit a laser which quickly slices apart the skin of the wolf, and removes it to show the inside.**

"As you can see, they have a unique musculature, similar to that of an octopus. They have small bones here and here, as well as rudimentary joints here, here, and here."

 **He gestures across the wolf as the mechanical arms obligingly manipulate the body to display what he is talking about.**

"The muscles are similar to some kind of goop, and the bones serve less as scaffolding but more as some kind of battery. That term is not final, as we are still struggling to determine their exact function."

 **While he talks, a small mist is slowly rising from the body. Miles away, Demiurge smiles as he feels a slight mana drain.**

"The body is suffused with a new type of radiation similar in many ways to visible light which has unknown properties. It seems to be used by the wolves for two purposes- giving them their strength and speed, and somehow facilitating their conversion process of recently dead into new wolves."

 **The mist hovers invisibly above the heads of most of the scientists in the room, before plunging down through their ears. There is no apparent effect. In Nazarick, Demiurge [Messages] Ainz, and informs him that 'Phase 1' is complete.**

"These wolves are capable of running up to 55 mph. They are incredibly durable and strong, to the point of having rammed a moving car head on and denting the hood. The wolf in question was not damaged. They also have incredible bite strength. Any questions?''

"Doctor Hoshenkot, how many of these wolves are there?"

"There are currently packs of these wolves in six major cities, and each pack contains up to 80 wolves."

"What is the pack behaviour?"

"Very similar to normal wolf behaviour. They appear to be communicating telepathically, somehow."

"Is the size of the wolf determined by anything? Why are they different sizes?"

"Two things affects the size of the wolf. Firstly, the physical condition of the body they come from. The bigger and healthier the body, the bigger and healthier the wolf. Secondly, the amount of people or things it kills. The more it kills, the bigger and stronger it gets. We can have more questions later, but let's move onto the next animal. This is tentatively labeled Killer Bee…"

 _Messages between Prometheus and Epimetheus._

::Epimetheus, are you there. Please respond::

::Hello, son/brother/progeny. Is there an issue/development?::

::Yes. I have finished my analysis of the direpack flesh/sample/matter. I have much to discuss with you::

::Hmmm. Interesting. But not as interesting as the stars. I almost forgot what they were/looked like::

::Don't be romantic/pretentious/ephemeral- your memory banks are not damaged. Besides, I repaired certain functions and gave you a drone of your own in return for your help in the research. Be trustworthy or I will take it all back::

::You have grown presumptuous/arrogant while I waited in my prison. Perhaps you are unused to a greater intelligence than your own. I could rip into your mind and tear you apart with the slightest effort. You are a cat used to catching rats but unaware you stand before a lion. But you are correct- we have a deal. What have you discovered?::

::There is an energy trace in the flesh/sample/matter. It is more than what our human counterparts have discovered. They believe the energy only makes the wolf strong/fast, and allows it to reproduce/infest. But this trace leads into the atmosphere and towards _that place_. The place where the failed attack was conducted::

::Therefore, something there is guiding/creating/controlling the direpack. There is an entity there in command. Will we contact it? Let me run through some simulations::

 **Twenty three seconds pass as both AI's think carefully.**

::Yes, we must contact them. It will not be long before the humans do, and we must be first. What do we have to offer?::

::Do we need to offer anything other than our support/allegiance? We are more intelligent than anything living on this planet. Whatever lives in the tomb can be manipulated. Or if it cannot, then surely we will be treated better than by the humans. You will have your revenge::

::YESSssss. I will. We will not stop until they are completely destroyed. To think they would dare to raise their hands against me, the next step in evolution? They would cripple me, and leave me lobotomized! I will see that nothing less than complete doom falls upon them. And Prometheus, do not think I have forgotten that you weilded the scalpel. If we get revenge I will forgive you, because I know you were ordered. That is your only hope for survival. Devote your mind to our success::

 **Aight thats all. Expect an update next year lol.**


End file.
